Durrell gorilla dies

Friday 12th October 2007, 12:00AM BST.

DURRELL Wildlife staff have suffered a major blow with the death early today of their four-year-old male gorilla Ya Pili.

The death is a major setback to the breeding programme to protect the critically endangered species. One of two sons of the dominant silverback gorilla Ya-Kwanza, who recently had a testicle removed to prevent cancer, Ya Pili was the brother of Mapema. The death has come at a time when gorillas are critically endangered in the wild owing to the hunt for bushmeat and the disappearance of their habitat.

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