Staff and animals at Rockhampton Zoo are once again in mourning, after a second primate death within a week.
A six-year-old white-cheeked gibbon, named Tuson, died on Wednesday morning — just two months after arriving at the zoo in October with fellow gibbon, Nakai.
The Rockhampton Regional Council, which runs the zoo, said Tuson had been ill for two weeks, with staff immediately seeking advice from gibbon experts and vets at the Perth and Adelaide zoos.
From Monday she was receiving full-time care from a vet due to suspected gastrointestinal and pancreatic problems.
"Although she had only been with us since October, our zoo staff are understandably very shocked and upset at the loss," the council said in a statement.
Councillor Cherie Rutherford said Tuson's first symptoms were puffy eyes, similar to hayfever.
"We're just absolutely gutted," she said.
"Tuson was quiet and reserved, yet confident in herself, and a genuinely lovely little soul.
"I really feel for the zoo staff during this time and extend my condolences to them once again.
"They love these animals as their own."
Second 'tragic' death in a week
Ms Rutherford said there was no evidence to suggest Tuson's death was linked to the death of chimpanzee Holly a week earlier.
"The vets are saying they're totally unrelated symptoms, totally unrelated deaths," she said.
"[Though] we can't 100 per cent tell you that until we get the test results back, but it certainly appears it's just a very, very devastating coincidence."
Zoo primate team leader Blair Chapman said it had been a physically and emotionally draining time for zoo staff.
"We're all really feeling it after the loss of Holly and then having this hurdle thrown at us," he said.
"We really want to thank everyone here in Rockhampton, our local community and the council for the support … [for] really helping us all get through this tragic, tragic time."
She was a 'beautiful little female'
Tuson was born at the Adelaide Zoo and travelled to Rockhampton in October.
She arrived at the same time as her 11-year-old cousin Nakai, who had come from Perth zoo.
At the time of the pair's arrival, the council said the project had been a collaboration between the three zoos to help "ensure the critically endangered species' survival".
Though she had only been in the zoo for two months, Mr Chapman said Tuson had started to blossom into a "beautiful little female".
"She started putting Nakai in his place, she really went from being very shy, not wanting to interact with keepers to just last week, she was coming over … letting us give her scratches," he said.
Mr Chapman said Nakai was fortunate to have developed strong bonds with one of his keepers, as the animals relied on paired bonds socially.
"He has been following her around a bit like a lost puppy, but he's doing OK at this stage," Mr Chapman said.
"We've had many in-depth discussions with the species coordinator who actually hand-reared Nakai for the first three months of his life.
"She's not too worried about him at this stage … He's a very resilient animal, he's been in many unusual housings over the years and it's just another hurdle for him.
"He'll get through this and we'll find him a lovely little lady that we can pair up with him sometime in the future."
The council said there was no indication Tuson was sick prior to being transferred to Rockhampton.
