MIAMI, Fla. -- Zoo Miami says a 31-year-old female Orangutan named Bonnie died Thursday night following an emergency procedure that required the removal of a full-term, non-viable fetus that she was unable to deliver naturally.
The zoo says Bonnie was born at the Audubon Zoo on January 26, 1985 and has been at Zoo Miami since May 8, 2009.
Staff had been monitoring Bonnie's pregnancy for months and following signs of elevated distress yesterday afternoon, she was immobilized and brought to the zoo hospital for emergency tests and treatment.
Testing confirmed the presence of a full term fetus that showed no signs of life and the decision was made to remove the fetus to prevent further distress and infection to Bonnie, who was already in critical condition according to Zoo Miami.
Zoo staff were able to successfully extract the fetus, but Bonnie was unable to recover and died within hours of the procedure.