Shauna Steigerwald

ssteigerwald@enquirer.com

Zoo personnel gathered early Monday to mourn Harambe. His keepers shared stories. There were hugs; there were tears.​

But there was no burial for the gorilla shot and killed Saturday after a child fell into his exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo. Nor will his remains be cremated and his ashes scattered, perhaps, around Gorilla World.

Instead, through science, part of Harambe may live on in future offspring. And his body, currently still at the zoo, may help scientists solve genetic problems facing his species.

“There’s a future," Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden director Thane Maynard said during a press conference Monday afternoon. "It’s not the end of his gene pool."

After Harambe's death, reproductive biologists from the zoo's Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife collected viable sperm from the animal. The center's assisted reproductive programs include research with artificial insemination and frozen sperm.

In Harambe's case, that's significant because, at 17, he had not yet reached breeding maturity. Zoo officials did have hopes of breeding him in the future. The zoo participates in the Species Survival Program management group for the species, which manages 360 gorillas in Association of Zoos and Aquariums facilities. One of its goals is keeping the animals genetically diverse so that their populations are healthy and viable into the future. Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild, where their numbers are estimated at fewer than 175,000.

The Cincinnati Zoo has a long history of breeding gorillas; Elle, born there last August, is its 50th.

Maynard said a number of scientists working on genetics issues related to gorillas have contacted the zoo about other possible uses for Harambe's remains, including storing tissue for future research.

Vigil held for Cincinnati Zoo gorilla Harambe