31-year-old gorilla dies at Columbus Zoo

POWELL, Ohio - The Associated Press

A 31-year-old western lowland gorilla has died at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Zoo officials say Anakka (ah-NOK'-ah) died Thursday after failing to recover from anesthesia administered for a routine medical procedure.
     
Anakka came to the Columbus zoo in 1993 after being born eight years earlier at a zoo in Philadelphia. He fathered four offspring in Columbus.
     
The median life expectancy for gorillas in North American zoos is just under 32 years.
     
Zoo officials said Anakka had a stroke. The official cause of death will be determined from a necropsy.
     
Assistant zoo curator Audra Meinelt says Anakka was smart, charismatic and special to the zoo.
     
Seventeen gorillas remain at the Columbus zoo.