28-YEAR-OLD GORILLA DIES AT L.A. ZOO.

Byline: Phillip W. Browne Daily News Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Zoo's oldest silverback gorilla died Saturday, hours after veterinarians gave him anesthesia for a health examination.

The 28-year-old gorilla, Tzambo, had just been diagnosed with a serious heart disease, zoo officials said. His ailment made it difficult for him to recover from the anesthesia.

The gorilla died inside his holding area about 1 p.m. with several zoo veterinarians and longtime keeper Jennifer Chatfield by his side.

``He was so sweet and gentle,'' Chatfield said. ``He was a strong silverback leader in one of our gorilla troops and a wonderful father. We're going to miss him tremendously.''

Doctors and veterinarians had become concerned that Tzambo's poor appetite and lethargic behavior in recent months were pointing to serious health problems. A five-member team, including a veterinarian and four doctors, examined him before his death.

Doctors said it isn't unusual to find heart ailments in a gorilla of Tzambo's age. At 28, Tzambo is close in relative age to a 60-year-old human, zoo officials said.

``His heart output was 15 percent of normal,'' said Charles Sedgewick, director of animal health services. ``The four human specialists we had at the examination said he would have been in a hospital bed awaiting a heart transplant if he were human.''

Because of his size, it was necessary to administer the anesthesia, even though it may have contributed to his death, Sedgewick said.

``He weighed 550 pounds. It would have been impossible to examine him without anesthetic,'' he added.

He is survived by an 11-year-old son, Jim, who is also at the Los Angeles Zoo; and a 3-year-old daughter, Hope, who resides at the Albuquerque Zoo in New Mexico.