A baby gorilla nicknamed "Tiny" by keepers at London Zoo has died after an attack by a new male silverback.
The seven-month-old western lowland gorilla was injured on Thursday when he and his mother Mjukuu were introduced to new male Kesho for the second time.During a scuffle between the whole group the baby suffered a broken arm and suspected internal injuries.
The infant gorilla underwent a three-hour operation to pin his arm but vets were unable to revive him.
Zoological Society of London (ZSL) director David Field said everyone at the zoo was "completely heartbroken".
Kesho's arrival last year was recommended by experts to create a cohesive social group, after the death of the zoo's previous male gorilla.
In the wild male gorillas often attack the offspring of their rivals, so staff were cautious about introducing Kesho to the baby, who was the offspring of the former male.
Kesho had been gradually introduced to the two other female gorillas at the zoo but keepers waited many months for an introduction to the youngster and his mother.
Mr Field said Mjukuu had begun to interact confidently with Kesho and the The first introduction on Wednesday "went very well".
'Utterly devastated' Kesho asserted his authority during a second attempt on Thursday, and during a scuffle between the whole group the baby's arm was seriously injured.
The gorillas were separated and the baby taken to the on-site vet hospital.
When he was brought off the anaesthetic, Tiny was unable to breathe by himself, and vets suspected he had also sustained internal injuries.
Despite repeated efforts he could not be revived, ZSL said.
Mr Field said: "We knew this was going to be an extremely difficult situation for the gorillas and their keepers and we've always been open about the challenges we would face introducing a new male in such difficult circumstances.
"Everyone here is utterly devastated. Although we had tried to be prepared for the worst, we are all completely heartbroken by this."
Keepers returned the baby's body to Mjukuu so she could come to terms with his death.
A post-mortem examination will be carried out and gorilla introductions between the adults will continue in order to create a stable, secure group, ZSL said.
12 comments:
Amazing! Its truly awesome paragraph, I have got much clear
idea regarding from this paragraph.
My site - Louis Vuitton Outlet
Greate post. Keep writing such kind of information on your blog.
Im really impressed by your site.
Hi there, You've performed an incredible job. I will certainly digg it and individually recommend to my friends. I am confident they'll be benefited from this web site.
my web site :: Chaussures De Football
Good post. I'm going through some of these issues as well..
Look at my weblog - Solde Air Max
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He used to be totally
right. This submit truly made my day. You cann't believe simply how so much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
Check out my webpage :: Go Here
Hi to all, the contents existing at this web site are genuinely remarkable for people experience,
well, keep up the nice work fellows.
Here is my web site ... Christian Louboutin Sale
Heya! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any
trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and
I ended up losing many months of hard work due to no
back up. Do you have any methods to prevent hackers?
Also visit my homepage - Abercrombie Paris **
I always spent my half an hour to read this website's content daily along with a cup of coffee.
my blog; Nike Blazers Men ()
I'm not sure why but this weblog is loading incredibly slow for me. Is anyone else having this problem or is it a issue on my end? I'll check
back later on and see if the problem still exists.
my site Louis Vuitton Handbags
fantastic publish, very informative. I ponder why the other experts of this sector do not understand this.
You must continue your writing. I'm confident, you've a great readers' base already!
Also visit my web page - Kobe Bryant Shoes
Hi there to every one, since I am really eager of reading this website's post to be updated regularly. It contains pleasant information.
Feel free to surf to my web-site ... Air Max Pas Cher **
For the reason that the admin of this site is working,
no uncertainty very shortly it will be renowned, due to its feature contents.
Here is my page: Air Max
I really love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme.
Did you build this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I'm looking to create my own site and would like to find out where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named. Cheers!
my blog post :: Kevin Durant Shoes 2013
Post a Comment