23 Primates Die In Fire At Nation’s Oldest Zoo Fire’s Cause Being Investigated; Dead Were Endangered Species

Smoke that spread through a primate house after a fire broke out at the nation’s oldest zoo early Sunday killed 23 gorillas, orangutans, gibbons and lemurs.

A security guard at The Philadelphia Zoo reported the fire shortly before 1 a.m. in the World of Primates building. It was confined to the ceiling in a 30-by-30-foot section of the one-story brick building, fire Commissioner Harold Hairston said.

The primates, all endangered species, died apparently of smoke inhalation. Ten others were treated for smoke exposure.

“I have watched a lot of these animals from when they were very young. Watched them mature and develop. This is so hard,” said Karl Kranz, who supervises the zoo’s animal keepers. “We’ll get through this, but it won’t be at all easy.”

Killed were six western lowland gorillas, three Bornean orangutans, four white-handed gibbons and 10 lemurs. Among them were gorillas John, Snickers and Samantha, all residents of the zoo since 1967.

Also killed was 11-month-old gorilla Maandazi, the youngest victim. A sign posted outside the World of Primates celebrates her birth with “It’s a girl!”

“These animals are so close to human that this is really like losing members of our family,” the zoo’s president, Pete Hoskins, said with his voice cracking. “They have moods, personalities and even a sense of humor. I just can’t find the words to say how all of us are feeling right now.”

Robert Wolcott, the zoo’s board chairman, and his wife, Peggy, embraced silently at the zoo with their eyes teary.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. The building was equipped with smoke detectors but didn’t have an automatic sprinkler system. The law doesn’t require one.

The fire caps a troubled year for the zoo, including layoffs, resignations of key personnel, investigations of embezzling and an anticipated $1.5 million budget deficit.

The zoo was founded in 1859. About 1.4 million visited it last year.