MEXICO CITY — Zoo officials in Mexico City say an endangered western lowland gorilla has died as he was being prepared for transfer to another zoo.
The capital’s zoo and wildlife office said Thursday that the 24-year-old gorilla known as Bantú appeared to have suffered a heart attack after being sedated Wednesday night. Doctors spent 30 minutes trying to revive him.
Bantú was headed to the Guadalajara Zoo in western Mexico with the hope of mating with two females there.
Officials say the precise cause of death will be established following additional examinations. Bantú had spent his life at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City.
The death comes after an international uproar over the gorilla Harambe was euthanized at the Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, after a young boy fell into its enclosure.
