The amount of Deaths at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium has increased over the past year. The zoo claims that there is no foul play in the deaths of the five animals: A red panda, elephant, sea lion, gorilla, lion. I think that they are hiding something and that the deaths are unusual because of how close together they have been. Pittsburgh Zoo is hiding something, mistreating their animals, and not taking responsibility for it.
The CEO of the zoo claims that the amount of deaths is a normal range. Three of these animals died in the couple months. The timing of these deaths has been difficult and forced the zoo to close just a few weeks ago so staff could meet with grief counselors. He stated that the zoo experiences about 15 to 25 mammal deaths each year. I don’t believe that is true at all, I think they are covering up the lack of support for the animals’ lives. The most recent death was Hawk the sea lion, he passed away at 18 years old. The zoo stated Hawk had been exhibiting unusual behaviors and refused to eat food for several days. The team decided a sedation was the best option since Hawk was suffering. In 1992, Mrithi was the first silverback lowland gorilla born at the zoo. The 31 year old had mobility issues and died on February 1th 2024 during a procedure to determine the diagnosis. The two year old elephant calf, Tsuni died from endotheliotropic herpesvirus. Tsuni died about a week after the diagnosis. Kovu the 9 year old red panda died after unusual behavior and difficulty walking. The 6 year old african lion Kit died after a medical procedure to resolve a digestive system blockage.
I think that the zoo needs to step up and take responsibility for the deaths of their animals. I believe that if any more animals die this year there’s a possibility that someone or a group of people might sue the Pittsburgh Zoo.