Gorilla dies while being transported to zoo

ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- A male gorilla died while being transported to the Erie Zoo, the second time that has happened since the zoo began trying to replace Rudy, a 49-year-old gorilla who died of old age last March.
Tumai, a 21-year-old lowland gorilla, died during a flight from the Memphis Zoo on Thursday, Erie Zoo spokesman Scott Mitchell said.
The body was taken to the Cleveland Zoo where a necropsy was scheduled Friday to determine how the gorilla died. Results of that examination were not immediately available.
In November, a 16-year-old lowland gorilla named Kuba died after he was given a sedative and crated for the trip from Topeka, Kan., to Erie.
Tumai had been sedated, too, but zoo officials said they did everything possible to make Tumai's trip more successful.
"He just stopped breathing. I have no idea what caused it," Mitchell said. "He was a middle-aged, 21-year-old gorilla. Just as anesthesia can be tough on people, it can be tough on animals as well. But there is no other way of moving them."
While many animals are transported without sedatives, Mitchell said it is common to anesthetize large male gorillas.
It could take months to find another possible replacement for Rudy. The zoo's only lowland gorilla is 42-year-old Samantha, who has adjusted well to living alone, Mitchell said.