Washington: The worlds first gorilla born in a zoo, a female named Colo died in her sleep overnight, less than one month after her 60th birthday, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in US state of Ohio said.

Colo was born at the zoo on December 22, 1956. She eventually became a mother of three, grandmother of 16, great-grandmother of 12 and great-great-grandmother of three. Raised in a nursery by humans, Colo has never left the Columbus Zoo. She surpassed the usual life expectancy of captive gorillas by two decades, Xinhua news agency reported.