Two-year-old gorilla dies ‘unexpectedly’ at Calgary Zoo

One of the Calgary Zoo’s gorillas died unexpectedly on Tuesday morning.

In an afternoon announcement, officials from the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo said one of their western lowland gorillas, two-year-old Eyare, was injured while moving “between back of house spaces” at the zoo.

Zoo staff came to the aid of Eyare, but her injuries were severe enough that she was pronounced dead.

Officials have not shared any more details on how the animal was injured. There will be a full investigation and a necropsy to figure out the exact cause of death.

Colleen Baird, the zoo’s director of animal care says it is not unusual for animals to be moved around back of house, adding it’s something that happens on a daily basis.

“There’s spaces in the back of house where we do training, where we feed them,” says Baird. “It’s common to ask them to move from one space to another.”

Eyare was born at the zoo in 2022, the first offspring to gorillas Jasiri and Dossi.

Baird called the two-year-old “playful and curious,” and says she will be “deeply missed” by all the zoo staff and her gorilla troop.

The gorilla troop at the zoo was made up of seven gorillas, the newest of which is Okabe, a baby born last May.

Latest in line of unexpected zoo animal deaths

The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo has faced multiple tragic animal deaths this year.

In July, seven-year-old polar bear Baffin drowned after playing rough with his mate, losing consciousness underwater, and not resurfacing.

In April, Yusufu, a 20-year-old mandrill monkey, died following complications from emergency abdominal surgery.

In May of last year, one of the zoo’s Masai giraffes, Emara, died after tangling one of her horns in a cable surrounding her enclosure.