Calgary Zoo staff devastated by death of young Japanese macaque

The Calgary Zoo says four-year old male Japanese macaque Kyubi has passed away. (Calgary Zoo)

CALGARY -

Staff at the Calgary Zoo are grieving the loss of a young monkey that recently passed away. 

Kyubi, a four-year-old Japanese macaque, joined the zoo in the spring. 

The zoo said the primate suffered “traumatic injuries” during introduction activities with his new habitat mates.

 Though caregivers tried to save Kyubi his injuries proved fatal.

“Our Animal Care, Health and Welfare team used their decades of experience in animal introductions to create a safe and slow introduction plan over the past six months for Kyubi to meet the female troop members,” the zoo said. 

“While rare, introduction fatalities happen both in animals under human care and in the wild.” 

The zoo said its animal care team is devastated by the death.

The zoo still has six female macaques: Lorie, Loki, Mika, Shawna, Suki and Sachi.