The first African-American senior zookeeper at the Maryland Zoo of Baltimore has died after a battle with the new coronavirus. Mary J. Wilson was 83.
Mike McClure, the zoo's general curator, confirmed Wednesday that Wilson died last Thursday at Northwest Hospital in Randallstown.
Wilson began working at the zoo in 1961, and she spent her entire career working with gorillas, cats and elephants in the Mammal House.
Wilson retired from the zoo in 1999. She's survived by a daughter, a grandson and a great-granddaughter.
