Lemur's death after surgery among 3 recent fatalities at the Calgary Zoo

A black-and-white ruffed lemur at the Calgary Zoohas died following surgery for a twisted stomach, officials said Friday.

Sava, atwo-year-old female, appeared to be in discomfort on Wednesday afternoon but began showing improvement after being treated by the zoo's veterinary team.

Then on Thursday morning her condition worsened. She was taken to the Animal Health Centre for emergency treatment and underwent surgery, dying a few hours later without regaining consciousness.

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A necropsy revealed she had a rare condition of gas trapping in the wall of her stomach, which caused it to twist and the stomach lining to start to die.

Although uncommon, zoo officials say the condition has been reported in black-and-white and red ruffed lemurs and is generally fatal.

2 other animal deaths

It was the third animal death in recent weeks at the facility.

On Aug. 18, a 10-year-old male Vancouver Island marmot named Zipper was euthanized. He was diagnosed with early heart disease last year and had been on medication for this condition.

Unfortunately his health continued to decline due to congestive heart failure and secondary kidney failure. Heart disease is a significant cause of mortality in marmots.

Zipper was captive born at the Tony Barrett Mount Washington Marmot Facility in B.C. and was part of the Vancouver Island Marmot breeding program.

And one of the zoo's male adult whooping cranes, named L'esperance, died on Aug. 13. The necropsy revealed the 25-year-old bird died of cancer.

L'esperance lived at the Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre, and over the years raised two sandhill chicks and four whooping crane chicks.