KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com | Chimp dies at Albuquerque zoo
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Associated Press - October 20, 2009 6:45 PM ET
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A 37-year-old female chimpanzee has died at the Albuquerque zoo.
Bernice was euthanized Monday after a short illness. She was 1 of 9 chimps, including her 9-year-old daughter, who joined the Rio Grande Zoo in May 2002 from the Coulston Research Foundation, a former biomedical research facility.
Zoo officials returned Bernice's body to the zoo's chimpanzee building to allow the other animals to know she had died. They displayed a variety of behaviors, including screaming and anger. Some hugged each other and gently touched her.
A necropsy is pending but zoo veterinarians believe she died from heart disease.
They say Bernice had a blood clot in her heart, and part of it broke off to cause a condition that made 1 of her legs wither. Treatment wasn't possible.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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