Durrell News

Tragic loss of baby gorilla

15^th October 2007

During the early part of last week our four year old western lowland gorilla, Ya Pili, began showing signs of not being well. Despite treatment, Ya Pili’s symptoms continued until she was taken into intensive care at Durrell’s veterinary department yesterday morning.

Tragically, the four year old died in the early hours of Friday morning at the Durrell headquarters. Ya Pili’s condition had continued to deteriorate despite every effort from Durrell’s expert veterinary team, members of the mammal department, as well as a team of medical experts.

Our family of gorillas here in Jersey are showing signs of mourning the loss of the youngster.

A post mortem will be carried out but it would appear Ya Pili was suffering a viral infection, which lead to her sudden death.

All those who visited the Trust can not have failed to enjoy the young gorilla’s energy and love of life. She was a bundle of joy whose antics kept every one of her family on their toes, including the animal staff here at Durrell.

The daughter of Ya Kwanza, Ya Pili, was born on the 22nd July 2003 here in Jersey. She will be sorely missed.

Durrell has had very few untoward deaths over the years it has kept gorillas. We will share what we learn with our gorilla-keeping colleagues in the interest of supporting gorilla conservation in the wild.

Senior Ape Keeper, Gordon Hunt, expressed the deep sorrow felt by Durrell staff at this sad loss: “There is a very strong bond that builds up when you work with these animals on a daily basis. Obviously we are all devastated by her death.”

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