SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A 12-year-old ape has died at the zoo in Springfield after contracting an acute bacterial infection.
The Springfield News-Leader reports that the siamang gibbon named Lucu caught the infection about a week ago. It didn't respond to treatment, and he died Friday at the Dickerson Park Zoo.
Senior zookeeper Melissa Dickson described him as "by far the sweetest gibbon we've ever had here."
He arrived at the zoo in 2011. The zoo says his mate, Makali, is getting extra enrichment and lots of interaction with her keepers.
Siamangs are an endangered species and Lucu and Mikali were part of the Species Survival Pair Program with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. They did not have any babies.