A gorilla in the Prague Zoo died after accidentally hanging himself with a climbing rope, last Friday.
The zoo officials said in a statement that 5-year-old Tatu was found hanging with a rope around his neck Friday morning in a sleeping room. Spokesman Michal Stastny said that the zoo authorities made several attempts to revive Tatu but everything failed.
He said there were no cameras in the room and what exactly happened to lead to this tragic end is not clear.
Mammals curator Pavel Brandl said that it is likely that Tatu unbraided one of the dozens ropes the gorillas use in their pavilion for climbing. He then probably put a strand around his neck before hanging himself.
"It was an accident," Brandl confirmed. The ropes are checked daily so negligence being the cause is unlikely.
According to zoo officials, another gorilla, Kamba, appeared to be trying to help Tatu when zookeepers arrived.
Brandl however added, "It's hard to say what exactly she was doing."
Director Miroslav Bobek mourned Tatu's dead. He said the death was the most tragic event at the zoo since flooding in 2002 that had killed more than 100 animals.
After Tatu, the zoo has six gorillas, and they are among the most popular animals there.
Tatu was a born star. It's reported that almost ten thousand people watched Tatu's birth online on May 30, 2007.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
