Primatology.net

Normally, I wouldn’t dedicate a post to the death of a great ape for many reasons. One is that there are too many deaths to cover, and the frequency of morbid news isn’t something I’m going for on this blog. The other is that great apes are just a few of the many species of primates that die everyday.

That being said, I’m saddened to pass on the news that Kuja, a silverback Western lowland gorilla at the National Zoo, died under surgery to implant a pacemaker. Kuja was one year younger than I. I covered news of his heart problems a couple months ago on Anthropology.net, and at the time I was optimistic of his quick recovery.

A 23-year-old western lowland gorilla at the National Zoo died Saturday as a team of veterinary specialists tried to implant a cardiac device, officials said.