Baby put to sleep: New details on the Munich gorilla drama – serious allegations against the zoo
Created: 04/01/2023 05:23
By: Julian Limmer
No animal from the gorilla group wanted to take the baby.
©Oliver Bodmer
A baby gorilla had to be euthanized at Hellabrunn Zoo.
New findings show why the mother rejected the newborn.
Munich – It was sad news at the turn of the year: The Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich had to put a gorilla baby to sleep on New Year's Eve morning.
The reason: neither the own mother nor the other four gorillas in the group had accepted the newborn.
Tierpark Hellabrunn: Baby gorilla put to sleep – young animal suffered from serious previous illnesses
The zoo has now announced new details about the drama: the first pathological examinations of the baby had shown that the young animal suffered from serious previous illnesses.
The baby had a bleeding in the head and an advanced navel infection.
"We know from nature that wild animals recognize very early on whether their offspring are healthy and whether rearing them has a chance of success," says Christine Gohl, senior veterinarian at Hellabrunn.
Attempts to bring the baby together with his 35-year-old mother Neema also failed.
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Gorilla drama at Hellabrunn Zoo: animal rights activists criticize the way monkeys are kept in the zoo
However, the birth took the zoo as a complete surprise: in the run-up there were no signs that Neema was pregnant – gorillas always have a pronounced stomach, according to Gohl.
The animal welfare organization Peta has sharply criticized the zoo: "Great apes cannot be kept in captivity in an animal-friendly manner," says Yvonne Würz from Peta.
Sudden deaths of monkeys therefore occur again and again in zoos.
(LIM)