The #1 source for news about monkeys and apes

[Carrie McLaren <carrie AT stayfreemagazine.org>]

The Mirror
May 24, 2002, Friday

HEADLINE: HOMER DIES OF A BROKEN HEART;
 SAD END FOR ZOO MATES

BYLINE: Tom Parry

Homer the orang-utan was devastated when his mate Hayley, who was 
expecting their first baby, was found dead in their enclosure from an 
ectopic pregnancy. The next day, grief-stricken Homer was dead too - 
unable to cope with the loss of his partner. Iain Valentine, the 
manager of Blackpool zoo, is certain Homer died of a broken heart.

He said: "Orang-utans often go into a deep depression when their 
enclosure mate dies.

"As a pair these two were inseparable. Watching Hayley die in front 
of him must have brought on a thrombosis." A third ape, Lomie the 
gorilla, also died recently, sparking fears that there might be a 
deadly bug at the council-owned zoo.

The Tory deputy leader of Blackpool Council, Ian Fowler, said: "To 
lose three apes in such a short period is unbelievable.

"I want to know if there is an infection going round at the zoo." He 
has asked to see reports of the post-mortems on the three apes and 
said that a leading vet had been brought in to study the deaths.

Lomie had been suffering from a cancerous tumour on her liver.
Six months ago she was taken by ambulance to Blackpool's Victoria 
Hospital, where she was wheeled past astonished patients and visitors 
to have a scan.