Little Rock Zoo mourns one-month-old chimpanzee with unknown cause of death

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Unfortunately, a one-month-old baby chimpanzee died in the early morning hours of September 8th at the Little Rock Zoo.

According to the autopsy, there is currently no clear cause of death.

The baby chimpanzee was born on August 23 to Kianga, who had lived at the Little Rock Zoo since 2020.

The chimpanzee was born as a result of a recommendation from the Species Survival Plan and showed early signs that Kianga was taking good care of him.

Early in the morning, the chimpanzee calf was found pale and the zoo's veterinary staff was notified to help the chimpanzee.

Kianga complied with staff instructions and laid her cub down so that veterinary staff could assist her baby.

At that time it was discovered that the baby chimpanzee had died.

The results of the autopsy showed that the baby chimpanzee had an enlarged heart and a head trauma, which could not be determined whether it occurred before or after birth.

In order to determine the cause of death of the infant more precisely, laboratory samples were taken.