Overview
- Zoo staff say the 14-year-old silverback Yeba attacked two group members on Tuesday, leaving the 11-year-old male Mobali mortally wounded and a four-day-old infant dead.
- Veterinarians euthanized Mobali after he suffered severe genital bite injuries that made normal urination impossible, the zoo reported.
- The zoo described the infant’s death as an unintentional chest bite that occurred when Yeba took the newborn from mother Joas and the parents struggled.
- Joas continues to carry the dead infant and keepers are not intervening in the ape’s mourning while the ape house remains open under intensified observation.
- Yeba arrived from France in October and his difficult integration has prompted Zoo Basel to consult outside experts and to closely monitor group dynamics ahead of another expected birth.