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ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
There was tragedy over the weekend at the St. Louis Zoo. One of the most well-known chimpanzees at the zoo died suddenly Sunday and zoo officials aren't sure why. Many people knew 14 year old "Cinder" by her appearance.
An autoimmune disease made her hairless. Zoo authorities described her as playful and a character.
Officials are still trying to figure out what made her die without any warning Sunday afternoon.
"It's very hard. Yeah, we're kind of in shock," said Ingrid Porton, the Curator of Primates about the death of Cinder.
"It was very, very sudden," she added.
Porton says eight of the 11 chimps at the zoo have been battling colds including Cinder. But Cinder was one of the first to get the cold and we're told she was getting better. Porton says everything was normal inside the jungle of the apes Sunday afternoon until the keepers were giving the apes an afternoon snack.
Porton told us, "They heard some screaming, alarm calls from the chimps."
The keepers then discovered Cinder flat on the ground.
"Hugo, our alpha male, was next to her obviously very distressed, and hooting and kind of hitting at her- come on, come on get up," explained Porton.
Crews spent 20 minutes trying to revive the 14 year old Cinder but she was gone.
Megan McDonald, 20, from St. Charles tells me Cinder, who was known as "the hairless chimp," was one of her favorite attractions at the zoo. She's stunned by the sudden death.
"It is really sad because she was really unique to the zoo and people came to the monkeys to see her, and now she's not here," said Megan.
Cinder's death comes as the zoo deals with another serious situation with Jade- one of the Asian elephants. She has herpes- a potentially deadly condition for elephants. Porton does not believe there is a problem with how animals are cared for at the zoo. She says by all indications Cinder was healthy.
Porton told us, "Animals die, animals get sick. Somebody asked me, well, would you expect a 14 year old chimp to all of a sudden up and die? Well no, but I don't expect a 14 year old child to do it either and it happens."
Porton says the average life span for a chimp is 32 years- so Cinder was young to die. We're told a necropsy found no obvious signs of trauma. At this point, there is cause of death. Further tests could take three to four weeks.
Jade, the elephant, is listed in stable condition.
An autoimmune disease made her hairless. Zoo authorities described her as playful and a character.
Officials are still trying to figure out what made her die without any warning Sunday afternoon.
"It's very hard. Yeah, we're kind of in shock," said Ingrid Porton, the Curator of Primates about the death of Cinder.
"It was very, very sudden," she added.
Porton says eight of the 11 chimps at the zoo have been battling colds including Cinder. But Cinder was one of the first to get the cold and we're told she was getting better. Porton says everything was normal inside the jungle of the apes Sunday afternoon until the keepers were giving the apes an afternoon snack.
Porton told us, "They heard some screaming, alarm calls from the chimps."
The keepers then discovered Cinder flat on the ground.
"Hugo, our alpha male, was next to her obviously very distressed, and hooting and kind of hitting at her- come on, come on get up," explained Porton.
Crews spent 20 minutes trying to revive the 14 year old Cinder but she was gone.
Megan McDonald, 20, from St. Charles tells me Cinder, who was known as "the hairless chimp," was one of her favorite attractions at the zoo. She's stunned by the sudden death.
"It is really sad because she was really unique to the zoo and people came to the monkeys to see her, and now she's not here," said Megan.
Cinder's death comes as the zoo deals with another serious situation with Jade- one of the Asian elephants. She has herpes- a potentially deadly condition for elephants. Porton does not believe there is a problem with how animals are cared for at the zoo. She says by all indications Cinder was healthy.
Porton told us, "Animals die, animals get sick. Somebody asked me, well, would you expect a 14 year old chimp to all of a sudden up and die? Well no, but I don't expect a 14 year old child to do it either and it happens."
Porton says the average life span for a chimp is 32 years- so Cinder was young to die. We're told a necropsy found no obvious signs of trauma. At this point, there is cause of death. Further tests could take three to four weeks.
Jade, the elephant, is listed in stable condition.
