32-year-old Gorilla Dies at Safari Park

On Friday, the San Diego Zoo reported that one of its gorillas had died.

Named “Alberta”, the 32-year-old western gorilla spent nearly its entire life at the zoo’s Safari Park division and was hand-raised by animal care staff, said zoo official, Jenny Mehlow.

The animal was one of six gorillas at the park, Mehlow said.

Alberta was born in 1979 at the Fresno Zoo before coming to the Safari Park and Mehlow added that western gorillas are considered to be critically endangered, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Before her death, Alberta was the mother of three infants in 1988, ’96 and ’92 and was said to have “adopted” a baby gorilla from another mother.

A necropsy will be performed to determine just what happened to Alberta. Officials said the animal was recently being monitored by veterinary and animal care staff for shoulder issues.