Popular Zoo Gorilla Dies in Sleeping Area

Chris, one of the oldest gorillas at the Los Angeles Zoo and a favorite among the park staff, was found dead Friday morning in his sleeping area.

The popular 33-year-old primate died of congestive heart failure, zoo officials said. He appeared to have died in his sleep and was found in a fetal position by his handler.

“The staff took it pretty hard,” said zoo Director Manuel A. Mollinedo. “It cast a sad pall over the entire place.”

Chris lived a relatively long life, Mollinedo said. The animal was roughly the same age as a 66-year-old human.

“He was a senior gorilla,” Mollinedo said.

Chris was the second Los Angeles Zoo animal to die in the past month. Annie, a sweet-tempered, middle-age elephant, was found dead in her pen March 23. The 30-year-old Asian element died of a debilitating salmonella infection, which took hold despite persistent efforts by the zoo staff to keep her alive.

Chris was a lowland gorilla, which is not as rare as the endangered mountain primates, Mollinedo said.

A fixture at the zoo for 16 years, where he played with his partner in a spacious exhibit, Chris fathered four gorillas. He was captured in 1963 in West Africa and was initially taken to the Sacramento Zoo. He was shipped to the Los Angeles Zoo after he killed a female gorilla companion, Mollinedo said.

Described by the zoo director as a “high-strung” gorilla, Chris initially fought with his equally combative female partner in Los Angeles before mellowing.

“They had some pretty interesting knock-down, drag-out situations,” Mollinedo said. “But eventually, they both settled down.’

There are nine other gorillas at the zoo, five males and four females.

To house the animals, an expanded ape forest was proposed as part of a $14.5-million, five-year plan approved in 1995 to upgrade the zoo.