RIP: Harambe's Grandmother Was Put Down and the Internet Is Mourning

Josephine, the grandmother of the late Harambe, was humanely euthanized Wednesday morning.

January 19, 2017

The grandmother of the late viral sensation Harambe has died at the age of 49, Zoo Miami announced Wednesday. Josephine was euthanized after years of untreatable health issues, the Miami Heraldreported. Known as Zoo Miami's "matriarch gorilla," Josephine gave birth to Moja in 1984. Moja would later go on to father Harambe.

"A variety of exams and tests performed over the last several days showed several abnormalities that indicated systemic terminal conditions that had no chance for positive outcomes or hope for recovery," Zoo Miami said in a statement. "This morning, when Josephine could hardly move, even to reach for her favorite treat, the staff knew the right thing to do. They made the very difficult decision to humanely euthanize her. That procedure was successfully performed this afternoon."

Josephine received artificial human lenses during an implant operation in 2009, restoring her sight after severe cataracts left her "practically blind." This surgery, zoo officials said Wednesday, is credited as giving Josephine a "greatly improved" quality of life in her final years.

Prior to becoming a persistent and annoying meme, Harambe was killed in May 2016 when a three-year-old boy made his way into the enclosed gorilla area of the Cincinnati Zoo. The 17-year-old silverback, NBC Miamireported, was ultimately shot and killed by zoo officials before kicking off a massive internet backlash that resulted in shit like this:

Please don't start that up again.