White House Honors Harambe on 10th Death Anniversary, Calling 400lb Gorilla a 'True Patriot'
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 28
White House Honors Harambe on 10th Death Anniversary, Calling 400lb Gorilla a 'True Patriot'
7 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 28
A 123-word White House social media post marked the 10th anniversary of Harambe’s death, mourning the gorilla as “a true patriot” and an internet-era icon.
Harambe, a 400lb western lowland gorilla, was shot at the Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, 2016 after 3-year-old Isaiah Dickerson fell 15ft into the enclosure and was dragged through water.
The boy suffered only minor injuries, but the killing became a viral cultural flashpoint that spawned memes, tributes and calls to memorialize Harambe in sports and popular culture.
The episode also led the zoo to upgrade safety barriers before reopening the gorilla enclosure a year later, underscoring how a zoo emergency evolved into a lasting internet symbol.
A decade after Harambe's death, are zoo animals truly safer from human error?
Does memorializing a gorilla as a 'patriot' trivialize a real tragedy?
Has internet culture triumphed now the White House officially commemorates a meme?