Cleveland zoo announces 32-year-old gorilla has died

CLEVELAND — Zoo officials in Cleveland say one of its two western lowland gorillas has died.

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo announced Friday's death of 32-year-old Bebac on its Facebook page. Zoo officials didn't return messages seeking comment Saturday.

Bebac and 29-year-old Mokolo, the zoo's other male western lowland gorilla, were diagnosed in 2008 with heart conditions that required treatment with drugs similar to what humans take for high blood pressure. Their health later was said to improve after the pair were put on high-fiber diets.

The two gorillas came to Cleveland in 1994 from Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, where they were both born.

Dozens of people posted remembrances and photos of Bebac on the zoo's Facebook page Saturday.