--- description: The 'Harry Potter' author wants you to know that the deceased gorilla Harambe, a popular internet meme, is not an official Patronus option. title: J.K. Rowling Clarifies: Harambe Is Not an Official Patronus image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # J.K. Rowling Wants You to Know That 'Harambe' Is Not an Official Patronus Option  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 22, 2016 5:33 PM CUT  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 22, 2016 5:33 PM CUT No, [the gorilla Harambe](http://time.com/4352001/cincinnati-zoo-gorilla-killed-harambe-boy-toddler/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") is not an official, J.K.-Rowling-approved Patronus option. On Thursday, Harry Potter fans went into a frenzy with the [launch of the Patronus “experience”](http://time.com/4504169/patronus-pottermore/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") on the all-things-Potter Pottermore site, in which Muggles can discover the corporeal animal form that their spirit shields would take — if we were able to perform the advanced-level magic of the [beloved Patronus Charm](http://time.com/4209231/harry-potter-spell/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined"), of course. As users have shared across social media, the results are exceptionally diverse and specific: all kinds of creatures have been produced, from tortoiseshell cats to run-of-the-mill rats to even mythical fire-dwelling salamanders. But in the seemingly-endless universe of Patronus options, there’s one animal that’s definitely not going to appear at the end of the quiz, and that’s the [deceased, meme-ified mountain gorilla](http://time.com/4464435/harambe-the-gorilla/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") Harambe, who once called the Cincinnati Zoo home and has since become a running viral joke. Rowling retweeted a comedy account that shared a Harambe-as-Patronus joke image — but then tweeted again to clear everything up. Now, carry on practicing your pronunciation of “Expecto patronum,” wizard wannabes! > [](https://twitter.com/theCHIVE/status/778978146045431808) > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/778998962367918084) > [](https://twitter.com/jk%5Frowling/status/778999160607502336) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4504671/j-k-rowling-harambe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4504671/j-k-rowling-harambe/"},"headline":"J.K. Rowling Wants You to Know That 'Harambe' Is Not an Official Patronus Option","datePublished":"2016-09-22T17:33:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:36:53.810Z","description":"Expecto... meme?","url":"https://time.com/4504671/j-k-rowling-harambe/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","viral","Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4504671/j-k-rowling-harambe/","name":"J.K. Rowling Wants You to Know That 'Harambe' Is Not an Official Patronus Option"}}]}] ```