PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium is mourning the loss of its baby gorilla.

The 3-and-a-half month old male died suddenly over the weekend, despite round-the-clock efforts to save its life.

On Friday, the gorilla staff noticed a change in the infant. It was listless and lethargic and not clinging to its mother, Moka.

Zoo President and CEO Barbara Baker told KDKA’s Kym Gable, “We immediately mobilized mom so the vet staff could look at the animal, and fortunately, our new Vet Center opened a couple of weeks back, so we were able to rush it right over there and try to revive the infant, but unfortunately, we lost it early Saturday morning.”

Director of Animal Health, Dr. Ginger Takle called it a devastating loss.

“We were starting to get some numbers back but we were never able to get him out of his comatose state, and then about 10 hours later… he went into respiratory arrest and then cardiac arrest. We performed CPR but were unsuccessful,” Dr. Takle said.

Right now, the cause of death is undetermined. The zoo performed a necropsy, but results will not be available for several weeks.

Moka the gorilla gave birth to the baby back in February. It was one of the most popular zoo attractions.

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