For 24 years, Lash thrilled Jacksonville Zoo guests. The gorilla recently died at age 45.

The oldest silverback gorilla at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has died at nearly 46, according to a statement on the zoo's Facebook page.

Lash had lived at the zoo since 1998. He was born at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in 1976 and would have turned 46 on Christmas Day, far beyond the average life expectancy for male gorillas in captivity, which is about 33 years.

Lash was being treated by the zoo's veterinary staff for arthritis and heart issues. No cause of death was reported. Three of his offspring, Patty, Gandai and Kevin, still live at the zoo.

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Zoo staff referred to Lash as the "official mixed-species liaison" because, unlike many other Western lowland gorillas, he got along with monkeys. He was also known as a picky eater, spitting out papaya and handing it back to trainers to show his dislike. He lived in a bachelor group with another male gorilla, Rumpel, for eight years before being introduced to females Madini and Bulera.

Western lowland gorillas are the most widespread of the gorilla subspecies inhabiting forests and swampland of Central Africa, the zoo said. But the subspecies is critically endangered due to deforestation, poaching and introduced diseases.

The zoo's gorillas live in the African Forest, which opened in 2018 at a cost of more than $9 million.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Zoo mourns death of 45-year-old gorilla