PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium is mourning the death of the first gorilla to be born at the zoo.
Mrithi, 31, was recently exhibiting mobility problems and spinal issues were suspected, according to the zoo.
Despite medical treatment, the gorilla went into sudden decline this week and died on Thursday during an anesthetic procedure to help figure out what was causing his symptoms.
Mrithi, whose name means "prince" in Swahili, was born on June 1, 1992. From that day, he was one of the zoo's most popular residents as guests watched him grow up from a wide-eyed infant to an impressive silverback, the zoo wrote in a Facebook post.
The gorilla sired four offspring with Moka: Ivan (born April 11, 2013), Frank (born May 25, 2018), and most recently last summer, Bo (born May 11, 2023). He is also the father of Charlotte, who was born last Valentine's Day to Ibo.
“Mrithi was a wonderful father and played often with his boys,” said Karen Vacco, Assistant Mammal Curator. “It wasn’t unusual to arrive in the morning to happy rumbles (gorilla laughing) coming from the gorilla bedrooms to find a ball of rolling gorillas with Mrithi in the middle. His favorite thing in the summer was to roll in the pool then tumble in the grass to dry off.”
The zoo says Mrithi leaves behind a legacy of gorilla conservation as his offspring continue to reside at the zoo.
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