Calgary gorilla died after being hit by a door: officials

The Calgary Zoo says its two-year-old western lowland gorilla named Eyare died after being hit by a hydraulic door at the rear of the exhibit.

Officials told the media Wednesday that the accident was a direct result of "human error."

"Eyare's death was determined to be a tragic accident," said Colleen Baird, the zoo's director of animal care, health and welfare on Wednesday.

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Baird said at about 9 a.m. on Nov. 12, Eyare was in the back-of-house, moving among the others in the troop when a gorilla team member activated a door.

The barrier was meant to separate her from the rest of the group for "an individual training session," but the wrong door was activated.

"Eyare was struck by the door and sustained traumatic head injuries," Baird said.

Officials said keepers immediately began life-saving procedures, but Eyare died of her injuries.

Zoo worker 'devastated'

The employee responsible for the error was immediately removed from the zoo premises after the incident and Baird said they are receiving the support they need.

"The animal care team member directly involved is devastated and is mourning this loss alongside all of us," she said.

The employee is expected to be reassigned to a different area of the zoo upon return and will be properly trained on the protocol for that area before commencing any work.

Baird said the remaining gorilla team members will have to undergo training on the hydraulic doors used for animal care.

Enhanced safeguards will also be put in place when animals are being trained to make sure the animals themselves know to keep clear of them when they are opening or closing.

Other changes include the adjustment of the placement of control levers and better labelling for each one.

Baird said the purpose of the review was to improve the animal-handling processes at the zoo, reinforce their commitment to animal well-being and "prevent future incidents."

All the hydraulic doors at the building were tested and were working properly, Baird said, adding they are common practice at many other zoos.

However, Baird said the zoo is always looking for safer, alternative options.

"We are still grieving the loss of this young gorilla," she said

"We are also committed to learning from this experience."

The Calgary zoo is home to six western lowland gorillas: Jasiri, Zuri, Yewande, Kioja, Dossi and Okabe.

The facility has had several tragic animal deaths in the past 15 years: a corn snake died in 2011 when it was left unattended near a heat source, a great grey owl died in 2012 after it flew into a gate, a technical fault in the hippotamus pool was blamed for the death of 85 tilapia in 2014, a North American river otter drowned after becoming entangled in a pair of pants in 2016 and in December of that year seven Humboldt penguins drowned in a holding pool.

Human error played no role in two other accidental deaths of animals at the zoo, including the death of a Masai giraffe that was caught in a cable inside its enclosure and this summer's death of Baffin, a polar bear, who died after engaging in "rough play" with the zoo's other polar bear, Siku.

Calls for legal action

One of Canada’s most prominent animal law advocacy groups is speaking out against the Calgary Zoo and its continued use of hydraulic doors at its facility.

“I'm just heartbroken to learn that this is how she died,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice, suggesting that Eyare was crushed by the door.

The zoo has only said she was struck and knocked down.

“I'm also troubled that the Calgary zoo didn't come clean about the cause of death a week ago, it would have been immediately obvious to them what had occurred. I do wonder if the purpose of the weeklong delay was not so much to provide better transparency, but to prepare communications lines," she said.

Labchuk notes that human error from the operation of a hydraulic door has now resulted in three animal deaths at the Calgary Zoo; a capybara in 2009 and a spider monkey in 2010.

“it's absolutely stunning that the zoo would continue using doors that are obviously dangerous.

“There are safety measures that could have been put in place that perhaps weren't here. We’ve all gotten out of an elevator before, there could have been sensors to prevent this type of pressing from happening. The zoo really needs to answer some very difficult questions now about why it would ever use devices that are this dangerous.”

Animal Justice went on to say that the Calgary Zoo has a legal obligation to keep animals safe and that the Alberta SPCA should investigate its licensing standards.

“One of those standards is that equipment must not pose a safety risk to animals, and in this case, with a hydraulic door, it's really difficult to see how using those hydraulic doors could possibly comply with the law.”

As a result of Eyare’s death, the zoo must submit a full report of the incident to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

A commission with AZA will then review that report to make certain accreditation standards continue to be maintained.

AZA provided the following statement to CTV News regarding that review:

“If there is evidence that standards were not being maintained, we will work with the institution to ensure the issues are adequately addressed,” read the statement.

“The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo was most recently granted AZA accreditation in September 2024. No progress reports were required, and the Commission was satisfied that all standards continued to be met. In addition, the zoo was commended for multiple habitats throughout the park, and no concerns regarding safety or staff training were noted.”

Questions over use of hydraulic doors in zoos

Rob Laidlaw, the executive director of Zoocheck, a Canadian organization that’s been protecting the well-being and interests of animals since 1984, has been examining the practices of zoos for decades.

He says he understand clearly that every facility has its own problems, but hydraulic doors are a major concern.

“So those problems can include, human error issues, design flaws like we've seen at Calgary in the past, the detrimental impacts of captivity, or even things like vandals or trespassers getting on the property,” he said.

“So every facility encounters problems, some that are probably foreseeable, some that are not. I'm not surprised, but I wish that back in 2010 that the zoo had decided to transition away from hydraulic door systems entirely."

Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado in Boulder, also expressed concerns.

“While I appreciate that the zoo is doing some much-needed work in reaction to the injuries and deaths, they should have been doing much more proactively because their recent record is truly deplorable,” he said.

“They need to remember that their non-human residents are the primary stakeholders."