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Copito de Nieve (Snowflake), the albino gorilla who was converted in to the most popular symbol of Barcelona, passed away at 6:40 in the morning of 24 November '03 consequence of skin cancer.
The only albino gorilla in the world, that was 39 years old, was brought by the ethologist Jordi Sabater Pi in 1966 from Guinea Equatorial, and since then he became one of the most famous residents of the Zoo of Barcelona.
Days before his death, Snowflake was taken away from public exposition after some days of his health worsening.
Euthanasia
The veterinarians and specialists that attended to Snowflake practiced euthanasia the night that took him to his death around 6:40am to avoid “extreme painful agony “ consequent of skin cancer that he suffered with for years, according to the mayor, Joan Clos.
The “difficult” decision, according to president of the Zoo of Barcelona, Jordi Portabella, was taken through evaluating the state of the albino gorilla and with the evidence that he had entered an irreversible process of agony.
Materials for the study
The margin of the rigor of necropsy, the Zoo would bring out a law of different scientific entities of the material of the genetic and cerebral importance, primarily, to study in depth the “exceptionality” of the only albino gorilla in the world and contribute to the knowledge of the species.
The entities that are working on this are the
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) - Autonomous University - , the
Universitat de Barcelona (UB) – University of Barcelona - , the Institut Dexeus, the Institut Guttman and the scientific park of the Zoo.
The rest that are not necessarily for scientific uses will go to the the Zoo Museum of Barcelona, in the same park of Ciutadella, according to the explanation of Clos.
Homage
The City Council decided to edit all the drawings the children dedicated to Snowflake in the last three months and there was talk of the possibility of dedicating a square or a street in the in Ciutadella Park, as well as a sculpture of the gorilla.
In a parallel way, according to Portabella, there was also talk of creating and an Espacio Copito in the Internet and Archivo Copito de Nieve to preserve all the material generated around the gorilla.
Without chronic health problems
The famous albino gorilla used for the first time in ´91 a new living quarters in the Barcelonan Zoo coinciding with his 25th anniversary arriving to Barcelona, installations in where the number of visitors of the zoo could see him through glass until his death.
Snowflake has had major health problems during all these years of captivity until September 2001 he was surgically intervened to eradicate a sore provoked by a tumor located in the skin of his breast that two years later it was reproduced and was the cause of his death.
The reappearing tumor
For an hour and eight minutes that the intervention lasted, and through the effects of the complete anesthesia, a dental examination and another one for ophthalmology were made, an extraction of 35 millimeters of blood, taking a sample of parasite control, and the tumor was eradicated in the right pectoral area of the animal.
With the reappearance of the tumor, the keepers decided not to operate again so he would not suffer, was finally the cause of its death.