Sunday marked the one-year anniversary since the death of an animal that inspired one of the internet’s greatest memes: Harambe.
In 2016, a 3-year-old boy fell into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo and video of him being dragged by a large gorilla, Harambe, went viral. After the accident, Harambe was killed by the zoo’s Dangerous Animal Response Team. But he has lived on via the internet.
Harambe became one of the world’s most famous memes after the incident ― and not just on the internet. People created shirts and songs in his honor as well.
The Cincinnati Zoo did not hold a public memorial for the anniversary of Harambe’s death, but the internet refused to let the day go unnoticed.
Even the rapper Young Thug, who released a song titled “Harambe,” posted a tribute to the gorilla on Twitter. And though we’re not entirely sure how much “Harambe” is really even about the gorilla, the rapper’s fans replied with expressions of their own heartbreak.