AILING GORILLA DIES AT ZOO.Byline: - Orith Goldberg An ailing 22-year-old gorilla named Cleo died Thursday afternoon, just before she was scheduled to have an MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. to check her brain for possible tumors or a viral infection viral infection, n an infection by a pathogenic virus. A virus acts on the cell nucleus, taking over the genetic material within the nucleus and replicating itself. or blockage. Cleo, a Western lowland gorilla considered an endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. , was deteriorating for the last two days of her life and had recently suffered a miscarriage, said Cynthia Stringfield, a veterinarian veterinarian /vet·er·i·nar·i·an/ (vet?er-i-nar´e-an) a person trained and authorized to practice veterinary medicine and surgery; a doctor of veterinary medicine. vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. at the zoo. Cleo's death caused much sadness throughout the zoo, said zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca. ``It's traumatic,`` La Marca said. ``When you get into the great apes that genetically are so close to humans, their are relationships built up with the keepers and veterinarians Veterinarians and veterinary surgeons (vets) are medical professionals who operate exclusively on animals. Well-known and notable veterinarians include:
Cleo began showing signs of illness Oct. 19 ans was treated for cough and depression. ``She had flu-like symptoms and she would just kind of stay off by herself and not interact with other members of her troop,'' LaMarca said. A week after she began showing signs of illness, Cleo suffered a seizure. On Oct. 31, a team of zoo veterinarians and doctors examined Cleo and determined she had a miscarriage after five months of pregnancy. A few days later, Cleo suffered another seizure and lost a large portion of her vision. Veterinarians planned to take Cleo to a private radiology location to get an MRI on Thursday evening, but Cleo began having breathing problems in her habitat Thursday afternoon. Zoo officials transported her to the health center, but Cleo was already unconscious during the ride there and never regained consciousness. She was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m., Stringfield said. Cleo had been living in a habitat with her half-sister, Angel, and Jim, a silverback gorilla who was the father of the baby she miscarried. It was unknown if that baby was a male or female, Stringfield said. Cleo had one male offspring, 13-year-old Kelly. Kelly's father, Tsambo, died of heart failure a little more than a year ago. Today, a veterinary pathologist A veterinary pathologist is a veterinary medical specialist. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recognizes 20 specialties. [1] Some of these specialists provide a higher level of health care to pets - surgeons, internists, cardiologists, and and gorilla specialist will perform a necropsy necropsy /nec·rop·sy/ (nek´rop-se) examination of a body after death; autopsy. nec·rop·sy n. See autopsy. necropsy examination of a body after death. See also autopsy. at University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis, commonly known as UC Davis, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, and was established as the University Farm in 1905. , and will be joined by a zoo technician and veterinarian to determine the cause of Cleo's death. Six Western lowland gorillas now remain at the zoo, Stringfield said. One of those, Evelyn, gained national attention last month when she escaped from her enclosure and wandered curiously around the zoo while officials cleared out hundreds of visitors. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion