Vaya con Dios, beloved Snowflake
November 25, 2003 Edition -1
Madrid - Spain has bade fare- well to the world's only known albino gorilla, Snowflake, who died after a long struggle with skin cancer.
The main attraction at Barcelona Zoo since he was brought there 37 years ago from Equatorial Guinea, Snowflake's fight with cancer made front-page news in Spain and brought thousands of well-wishers of all ages to see him.
Jordi Portabella, the zoo's director, told a news conference that Snowflake had died early yesterday after veterinarians decided to have the animal put down to avoid further pain. His skin cancer was first discovered in 2001.
Queues stretched for hours outside Snowflake's enclosure in the months before his death. But the 140kg giant, pumped full of painkillers and anti- depressants to ease his suffering, often preferred to turn his back on onlookers.
The 40-year-old gorilla, a lover of yoghurt, will be cremated after DNA and other tests are run on his body. Zoo staff said they had no plans to dissect his body, out of respect for his dignity.
Despite his gentle name, Snowflake was renowned for his ill temper and scowling, wrinkled expression. He fathered more than 20 children, appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine and was a favourite with generations of Spanish children.
Gorillas, one of mankind's closest relatives, are threatened with extinction as their jungle habitat is gradually destroyed.
Illegal hunting and disease are decimating the principal populations of West Africa, according to conservationists. - Reuters
