Barcelona yet to honor ‘Snowflake,’ 13 years after his death

The mammal died 13 years ago, at the age of almost 40. At that time the then-mayor of Barcelona, Joan Clos, promised to name a street after him, as well as commissioning a hyper-realistic sculpture of the gorilla. However, neither plan came to fruition.

Years later, Mayor Xavier Trias suggested building a path in Ciutadella park, where the zoo is located, and naming it after Jordi Sabater Pi (1922-2009), the primatologist who bought Snowflake from a hunter and brought him to Barcelona. Trias wanted to pay indirect tribute to Floquet de Neu, as the gorilla was known in Catalan. But that project didn’t catch on either.

Barcelona City Hall claims that administrative reasons preclude it from naming a street after Snowflake. What’s more, the team in charge of naming Barcelona’s streets has said that it has not received an application to put the albino gorilla’s name on an official plaque.

The story of Snowflake dates back to October 1, 1966, when a group of hunters from Equatorial Guinea killed a family of gorillas. Behind one of the females an albino baby appeared. It was aged between two and three years old. One of those hunters sold this unusual animal to Sabater Pi. A month later, the gorilla arrived in Barcelona and the then-mayor, José María de Porcioles, was there waiting for his arrival. Twelve months on, and Snowflake appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine, becoming in the process one of the most famous symbols of Barcelona.

In September 2003, second deputy mayor and president of Barcelona zoo, Jordi Portabella, announced that “Little Snowflake” was going to pass away. “It is not a case of years or months, it will be weeks,” he said. Skin cancer ended his life.

Sabater Pi argued that the unique gorilla should be stuffed, in order to preserve him. He thought that he would continue attracting visitors even after his death. But in the end, the animal was incinerated in order to preserve “his dignity.”

Teresa Abelló, who has been working with the primates in Barcelona Zoo since 1985, says: “I was concerned about all the gorillas, but little Snowflake was so special, we only had eyes for him.” The biologist adds that the gorilla was “a model grandparent, he played and took care of his grandchildren and was a charming animal.” She remembers how he moved and how they treated a wound he had in his armpit. On October 23, 2003 his agony was irreversible, so the following day a lethal injection ended with its life painlessly.

Snowflake’s remains were donated to universities, high schools and research centers

Snowflake’s remains were donated to universities, high schools and research centers. The Animal Tissue Bank of Catalonia kept fluid, tissue and brain samples. The Dexeus University Insitute was given the gorilla’s reproductive system, including his sperm. The Pompeu Fabra University holds tissue and DNA, while Barcelona University has skin samples and the Natural History Museum of Barcelona has part of his skeleton and some skin. A mold of the gorilla’s head, hands, feet and chest was taken in order to design a hyper-realistic sculpture, but it is yet to be created. But none of these remains can be accessed, given that these institutions all signed confidentiality agreements.

The remains that no one else wanted were burned and inserted into a biodegradable vase, mixed with the seeds of a typical African tree. The vase was buried in the zoo. According to an urban legend a lawnmower cut the stem that grew from the buried seeds. What is known for sure, however, is that six years after Snowflake’s death the zoo was refurbished, and where the tree should have sprouted from the gorilla’s remains, there is now a garden where red kangaroos jump.

English version by Albert Cadanet and Marc Corominas.