Alpha latest of great apes to die in a Chicago zoo

Alpha latest of great apes to die in a Chicago zoo

www.chicagotribune.com

"She was always very active, always moving around, a very strong personality," Smith said. "But recently she sat off quietly by herself a lot."

Zoo veterinarians and outside specialists suspected her kidneys were beginning to fail, a common ailment for very old gorillas. By Thursday they determined that no treatment would reverse her steadily deteriorating condition and decided to euthanize her to end her suffering.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This article kinda caught me off guard. Latest of great apes to die in a Chicago zoo? I wonder what is going on there. While it is mentioned that kidney failure is common for old apes, the article says she was euthanized...

And then in the next sentence, it states:

"The necropsy confirmed what we had suspected, that the cause of death was end-stage kidney failure," said Smith.

I know many here will think I am crazy for pointing that little inconsistency out.. But I am doing it anyway.

She was euthanized because they wanted to end her pain and suffering from a liver ailment.... But they confirmed that her cause of death WAS the liver problem? After saying she was euthanized. Go ahead, laugh at me. Perhaps I am just not getting it.

www.chicagotribune.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 27-3-2009 by LostNemesis]

reply to post by LostNemesis


OH, I get it what is they had been wrong? What is her liver and kidneys had been just fine, and there killed her for no reason. Now that would have been something you would have never seen on the news.

reply to post by LostNemesis


Her SYMPTOMS were kidney failure, and they diagnosed it as kidney failure, but they couldn't be 100% certain until the necropsy was performed. Euthanasia is common with old animals that are sick. It's the kind thing to do.

The latest because she's the second to die in the last few months. Both were extremely old for gorillas though, so it wasn't unexpected.

reply to post by LostNemesis


The article doesn't say anything about liver problems, it says kidney failure. She was euthanized because she was very ill and it would have been cruel to allow her to die suffering that way.

It's also common for a necropsy to be preformed to make sure what was wrong with the animal so they can be sure that it isn't something contagious that could be spread to the other animals.

I just want to clarify that Brookfield zoo is not in Chicago, it's actually located in Brookfield Illinois. So there isn't really anything going on in Chicago.

The zoo that's located in Chicago is Lincoln Park Zoo.

Originally posted by LostNemesis


She was euthanized because they wanted to end her pain and suffering from a liver ailment.... But they confirmed that her cause of death WAS the liver problem? After saying she was euthanized. Go ahead, laugh at me. Perhaps I am just not getting it.

Did you read the article? Where did it say anything about this gorilla having a liver problem?

It doesn't surprise me at all that they wanted to discover for sure what was ailing this gorilla after they uthanized her. She was afterall, exposed to other gorillas at the zoo. What if she was sick do to something that could have been contagious to the others?

I found the article very interesting, and found the part about giving her a wake for the other gorillas very touching.