Cause of Gorilla’s Death Is Found

The 26-year-old western lowland gorilla found dead at Zoo Atlanta on loan from the Los Angeles Zoo died from complications related to a severe case of bowel inflammation, officials said Thursday.

Caesar was discovered Tuesday by zoo veterinarians in his sleeping quarters. The great ape was being treated for what zoo staff said appeared to be a minor case of diarrhea over the previous week.

A necropsy performed at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta revealed “Caesar’s case to be rare and abnormally severe,” according to a news release issued Thursday by Zoo Atlanta.

The statement concluded that even though “appropriate fluids and antibiotics were being administered,” there was no other treatment they could have given Caesar to save him.

“The team of researchers at Yerkes ... can only recall one similar case, 20 years ago, in which such severe circumstances occurred -- despite appropriate treatment -- and led to an unexpected death,” the zoo’s statement said.

A more detailed pathology report will come later, the zoo said.

“Whatever caused it, it’s not typical,” said John Lewis, director of the Los Angeles Zoo. He said that Zoo Atlanta had consulted with L.A. Zoo veterinarian Cynthia Stringfield several times last week and that Caesar appeared to be responding to treatment. But he said discerning sickness in exotic animals could be difficult.

“It is in their nature not to show illness,” he said. “If you show illness in the wild, you become vulnerable to attack from predators.”

Both zoos hoped that Caesar, the offspring of gorillas caught in the wild, would mate in Atlanta. He had no luck breeding in Los Angeles. The Georgia facility had just begun introducing the silverback gorilla to female gorillas in off-exhibit quarters, but Caesar had yet to find the right mate, Zoo Atlanta staff said.

Caesar’s body was cremated, and his ashes will be sent to the Los Angeles Zoo.

The L.A. Zoo had all six of its gorillas on loan while a new habitat was built. Three females and two males were moved to the Denver Zoo last year. One female, Rapunzel, was impregnated by an L.A. male, Kelly, and recently gave birth. Another L.A. Zoo gorilla, Jim, has bred with a Denver Zoo gorilla.