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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Louisville Zoo announced that 27-year-old gorilla Mia Moja died from complications from an emergency cesarean section to deliver a female baby three weeks premature.
The baby, in critical but stable condition since its birth Monday, weighed less than four pounds, nearly the average size of a full-term baby. Mia Moja died Tuesday morning.
Louisville Zoo Director John Walczak called her death "heartbreaking" and said a post-mortem exam will be performed on the gorilla, a critically endangered species.
The zoo said in a statement that the mother started experiencing unusual bleeding and her condition was considered life threatening. A team of veterinarians and OB-GYNs examined her and decided an emergency cesarean section was necessary.
The baby will be bottle fed, watched around the clock and monitored by a University of Louisville neonatologist.
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