Harambe
A May 2016 Cincinnati Zoo tragedy that the internet turned into a lasting meme cycle — tributes, jokes, remixes, and years of references after Harambe, a western lowland gorilla, was shot when a child entered his enclosure.
Overview
The news was serious. The online afterlife was something else. Within days, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube filled with memorial posts, ironic tributes, and remixes. Phrases like “dicks out for Harambe” became part of mid-2010s meme slang. People kept citing Harambe years later as shorthand for how the internet turns sudden real-world news into humor and ritual. The animal’s death is not the joke — the meme response is what put the name into internet history.
Cultural scores
Editorial estimates of cultural weight — Current Popularity tracks how much people are posting about this now, not historical fame.
Current Popularity = how actively people are posting about this today. Influence = lasting footprint. Cringe = online reception. Brainrot = absurdist energy. How scoring works
Timeline
1
May 28, 2016: Harambe, a western lowland gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo, was fatally shot after a child entered the enclosure
2
Within days, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube filled with tributes, jokes, and remixes that outlived the news cycle
3
Became a durable 2016 reference point, including “dicks out for Harambe”-style memorial absurdism
4
Still cited years later when people talk about how the internet turns sudden news into memes
Media
Harambe the Gorilla — Know Your Meme
Documentation of the meme response and cultural afterlife.
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/harambe-the-gorilla
Related entries
Culturally linked — not random recommendations.
Arthur's Fist
MemeThe clenched-fist Arthur Read still — the internet's default reaction image for bottled rage and 'mood.'
Area 51 Raid
EventThe 2019 'Storm Area 51' Facebook event — millions RSVP'd to 'see them aliens,' and a few thousand actually showed up in the desert.
100 Men vs 1 Gorilla
MemeThe viral hypothetical: could 100 unarmed men beat one silverback? A debate format that ate timelines in 2025.
Coffin Dance
MemeGhanaian pallbearers dancing with a coffin — the 2020 viral clip used as a humorous 'you're done' reaction.
References
Sources behind this entry. Prefer primary reporting and established culture archives over rumor.
- Harambe — Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org