Cincinnati zoo has deactivated its social accounts after it asked the public to stop making memes about Harambe the gorilla.

The animal was shot dead this year after a three-year-old child climbed into his enclosure. Since then, Harambe has turned into a source of humorous content online.

Jokes about his memory have spread on all corners of the internet – including the mentions of Cincinnati’s zoo official social media accounts.

In the past few months, their Twitter mentions have been filled with the following:

Its Facebook page faced similar issues. This week, both were deactivated after Cincinnati zoo pleaded for the memes to stop.

The zoo’s director, Thane Maynard, told the Associated Press: “We are not amused by the memes, petitions and signs about Harambe.

“Our zoo family is still healing, and the constant mention of Harambe makes moving forward more difficult for us. We are honoring Harambe by redoubling our gorilla conservation efforts and encouraging others to join us.”

Maynard’s account was hacked this month and taken over by messages dedicated to Harambe.

There has been much theorising about why Harambe has become the meme of the summer. Some believe mimicking over-the-top displays of grief appeals to the internet’s sense of humour. Others believe it comes from a genuine place of anger about what happened to Harambe.

Whatever the case, it remains to be seen whether deleting the accounts will stop the jokes.

• Harambe: the meme that refused to die