JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Another tragedy at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, after a fourth great ape passed away this week.
The death comes as zoo officials continue to battle an outbreak of a bacterial infection known as Shigella that claimed the lives of three apes over a five-day span in late August.
Three-year-old Kevin the gorilla was born at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.
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Tragically, zoo officials announced after nearly a month of intensive treatment, Kevin passed away Sunday.
“Every loss is hard, but with Kevin, because he was so young and because we invested so much trying to save him, it was particularly hard,” said Tracy Fenn, Curator of Mammals at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.
Fenn explained Kevin’s fight lasted roughly 20 days, during which he was transferred to the Zoo’s emergency care unit for a span of time.
Several outside medical professionals, including human doctors, were brought to help.
Unfortunately, internal injuries caused by the bacterial infection proved too much to overcome.
“The truth of the matter is the care team is part of the gorilla troop in some strange way. So, when one is lost it is like losing a loved one,” said Fenn.
Kevin’s death comes roughly two weeks after the Shigella outbreak claimed the lives of Bonobos Jumanji and Jenga, as well as Kevin’s grandmother, Bulera.
Fenn said it’s unclear how long the zoo will have to continue battling the disease.
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For now, quarantine protocols and safety measures remain in place.
Fenn explained with this particular infection, the zoo’s 17 remaining apes could get the all-clear in a week, or several months from now.
“Each ape handles it very differently and we just have to monitor everybody as if they could have it at any point,” said Fenn.
Currently, one bonobo is being treated and the other bonobos and gorillas are being monitored closely.
The great ape exhibits do remain open to the public, and Fenn argued it’s public support that is needed most at this moment.
“We could not do the life-saving measures that we are currently doing for the apes at the zoo without the support of our community and people that come out and visit,” said Fenn.
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It still is, and likely will, remain a mystery as to how this outbreak started, though zoo officials are attempting to answer that question.
Fenn told Action News Jax that a USDA inspector visited the zoo after the outbreak started.
She said no infractions were found.
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