Young Gorilla Dies at Zoo After Keeper Mistakenly Shuts Door Near Animal in Human Error Accident
A 2-year-old female western lowland gorilla died at the Calgary Zoo after sustaining head injuries from the closing door, zoo officials said
The Calgary Zoo
Eyare at the Calgary Zoo.A gorilla living at the Calgary Zoo died after an accident with one of her enclosure's hydraulic doors, officials confirmed.
According to a press release from the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo published on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2-year-old western lowland gorilla Eyare died on the morning of Nov. 12 after a keeper accidentally activated a door while trying to separate Eyare from other gorillas in her enclosure. She sustained head injuries when the door hit her, and although keepers attempted CPR and other medical treatment, the young primate died.
"Eyare was moving around in the back of the house, roaming from bedroom to bedroom interacting with the other gorillas," Colleen Baird, the zoo's director of animal care, health, and welfare, said in the press release. "A member of her care team intended to activate a door to separate Eyare from other members of the troop for an individual animal training session but mistakenly activated the wrong door, resulting in Eyare being struck by the door and sustaining traumatic head injuries."
"The gorilla team retrieved Eyare from the troop, and the veterinary team immediately commenced lifesaving measures, including CPR. Sadly, Eyare succumbed to her injuries," she added.
The Canadian zoo added that it had launched an investigation into the gorilla's death and that the incident was determined to be the result of human error.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 30, Baird called the incident a "tragedy." She noted that the keeper had been removed from the workplace immediately after the accident and would be reassigned to another area of the zoo.
"Only a week has passed. We are still grieving the loss of this young gorilla. We are also committed to healing and learning through this experience," Baird said.
The zoo has said it will take preventative and corrective actions to prevent similar incidents from happening again, including holding annual training sessions for the gorilla care team on operating the hydraulic doors.
Baird also added that the zoo's building operations team confirmed that all of the hydraulic doors in the gorilla habitat were operating correctly. The zoo wrote in its press release that the use of these doors is standard across most accredited zoos.
"While the investigation into the cause of death has concluded, the zoo doesn't take these findings lightly and is continuing to conduct a thorough review to identify any potential opportunities to enhance staff training, improve animal care processes, and reinforce safeguards moving forward," the release adds.
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The Calgary Zoo has previously faced controversy for similar incidents, including the death of a polar bear earlier this year in which the animal sustained a "crushing injury" to its windpipe during play with another bear. In 2016, an otter became tangled in an "unauthorized" pair of pants a zookeeper dropped in its enclosure, per CNN.
Additionally, according to Canadian outlet CBC, in 2009, a capybara at the Calgary Zoo was crushed by another hydraulic door.
Activists have since called out the zoo, claiming that it has higher rates of animal deaths than other zoos. The Canadian animal advocacy group Zoocheck told the CBC that it was encouraged that the zoo would be exploring alternatives to hydraulic doors and implementing more animal safety measures, but it was surprised that doors were still in use after the capybara's death.
"Evidence from elsewhere shows that hydraulic doors pose a danger. We've seen that with this death. And when they're operated, preferably you would have those pressure stops like in elevators," Zoocheck director Rob Laidlaw told the outlet. "They pose a hazard, and I don't think there will be any denial of that anymore."
