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San Francisco Zoo Gorilla “Oscar Jonesy” Dies After Medical Procedure

Incident Date:
02/07/2025
Location:
San Francisco, CA - USA
Facility Name:
San Francisco Zoo
Facility Type:
Accredited AZA Facility (AZA)
Incident Category:
Animal Death (AD)
Species:
Primates
Animal:
Gorilla
Animal disposition:
Dead

Summary:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Officials at the San Francisco Zoo on Friday confirmed that their 43-year-old endangered Western lowland gorilla named “Oscar Jonesy” died after a medical procedure on Thursday afternoon.

The zoo’s Chief Veterinarian Dr. Adrian Mutlow said the procedure went well and Oscar was showing initial signs of recovery from anesthesia when “he suddenly became unresponsive and stopped breathing. We responded immediately but even with the assistance of critical care specialists from Stanford, we were unable to revive him,” said Dr. Mutlow in the release. “With no signs of serious illness found during the examination, we do not have a definitive cause of death but we should know more following the necropsy examination which will be performed at UC Davis Veterinary School today.”

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