On the heels of last week’s devastating loss of a beloved polar bear and giraffe, the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday announced that Maka, a 30-year-old Western lowland gorilla they called “the heart of our bachelor troop,” had died.

Maka died Monday after suffering an unexpected cardiac episode while undergoing a medical exam at the zoo veterinary hospital, zoo officials said. The gorilla had been experiencing “brief seizures,” and staff had been monitoring his health closely with ongoing evaluations, officials said in an Instagram post .

During his exam, he suffered cardiac arrest, and even though health and care teams provided “heroic and sustained efforts,” he could not be revived.

“In what stands as one of the most challenging periods in recent memory for our San Diego Zoo Wildlife Al

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