Kumba, the first gorilla ever born at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, died after her health deteriorated in recent months, zoo officials announced Monday.
“This was a historic gorilla,” zoo spokeswoman Kelly McGrath said about the female western lowland gorilla, who was 35 when she died. “She is irreplaceable.”
Kumba apparently suffered from kidney failure, a common cause of death in older gorillas, McGrath said. Veterinarians started treating Kumba in November after she began losing weight, but they failed to stem her physical decline.
“It became evident that she was dying,” said the zoo’s curator, Robyn Barbiers. Keepers decided to euthanize Kumba on Saturday.
“Kumba will be sorely missed,” Barbiers said. “It’s always sad to lose an animal.”
Kumba was an intelligent gorilla who liked to keep to herself but could also be mischievous–feigning to warm up to keepers she didn’t like and then suddenly grabbing them, Barbiers said.
Western lowland gorillas are considered elderly once they enter their 30s, through some are known to live into their 40s, McGrath said. Kumba’s mother, Mumbi, lived to be 37.
Since Kumba’s birth, there have been 44 other gorilla births at the Lincoln Park Zoo, more than at most other U.S. zoos, officials said.
With Kumba’s death, there are now 12 gorillas at the Chicago zoo, Barbiers said.
