After local animal welfare organizations successfully campaigned for his release to a facility that could care for Ivan properly, in 1994, he was placed at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

He spent his remaining years at Zoo Atlanta and died from complications during a medical procedure in August 2012.

PAWS encouraged the community of Tacoma and other nearby cities to protest and to boycott the B&I shopping center.

In 1994, due largely to the successful campaign work by PAWS and the national public outcry, the B&I relinquished their rights to Ivan.

Ivan was rarely observed breeding with the female gorillas in his troop, and he did not sire offspring.

Zoo Atlanta honored the request made by Ivan's original owners to have his remains cremated and returned to Tacoma, Washington.

[1] A 600-pound (270 kg) bronze statue of Ivan was unveiled outside the Point Defiance Zoo's main entrance on October 26, 2016.