Routine physicals are never routine when the patient is a lowland gorilla

Veterinarians gathered at the Franklin Park Zoo today for a physical for Kitombe, a western lowland gorilla at the zoo. Zoo New England reports the physical went well once Kitombe was anesthetized for the protection of both patient and veterinarians.

The exam included a general physical, blood work and a cardiac exam. The results received from the cardiac exam will go into a national database to assist in diagnosing cardiac disease in other gorillas.

“Everything went very smoothly with this examination and Kit appears to be in good health. We are very pleased with how everything went this morning,” said Dr. Eric Baitchman.