Aging gorilla dies at Zoo Atlanta

ATLANTA, April 3 (UPI) -- Banga, the youngest of Zoo Atlanta's five elderly gorillas, died Tuesday of respiratory and heart failure.

Dennis Kelly, the zoo's president and CEO, said that Banga, who suffered from arthritis, was undergoing treatment for her lameness. She did not regain consciousness from anesthesia and was pronounced dead shortly before noon.

Until Banga's death, the zoo had five western lowland gorillas ranging in age from 42 to 48, old age for a gorilla. Like elderly humans, the gorillas suffer from a variety of ailments and sometimes take the same medication, like Celebrex for arthritis.

"We will all miss her here at Zoo Atlanta," Kelly said of Banga.