Cleveland Zoo's gorillas Mokolo, 20, and Bebac, 23, were examined at the zoo's veterinary hospital by echocardiogram and were found to have left ventricular hypertrophy and congestive heart failure (CHF), respectively.According to the Cleveland Zoo press release:
"The zoo is participating in a national study of gorilla health, after previous research found that gorillas in captivity are prone to heart disease.
Mokolo's left side of his heart is enlarged. Bebac's heart is more enlarged, shows impairment and doesn't pump as efficiently as it should, he said.
The gorillas will be placed on beta blockers or ACE inhibitors, drugs familiar to people with high blood pressure and heart disease."
Animals die of heart disease juts like humans do. A 176-year-old tortoise, believed to had been owned by Charles Darwin, died MI and CHF in 2006.
I have a video of Mokolo below and, as you can see, he is the silverback (the boss) in the group of the 2 gorillas at the zoo.