Dian is dead: As the Frankfurt Zoo has now announced, the gorilla female was put to sleep in April.
She was 33 years old, lost her sight at the end and suffered from severe pain.
"A species-appropriate life in the group was no longer possible for her," writes the zoo.
Bernhard Biener
Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung
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Dian has lived at Frankfurt Zoo for 27 years.
She was born in 1989 at Burger's Zoo in Arnhem, The Netherlands.
Over the years she gave birth to five cubs and was part of the eight-member gorilla family around the silverback Viatu.
The twins Dian had in 2015 both died four months apart.
In 2017, a female cub survived after giving birth to another twin.
The nurses recently noticed that Dian was becoming more and more withdrawn and apparently suffering from a headache.
An eye disease was diagnosed at the veterinary clinic in Hofheim, which caused the female gorilla to go blind.
Associated glaucoma, also known as glaucoma, caused severe pain.
Dian's condition could no longer be improved.
"The decision to euthanize the female gorilla was not easy and, as is usual in these cases, was made in close consultation with the zoo's internal committee consisting of zoo management, veterinarian, curator and the animal care team, as well as with the veterinary authorities," said zoo director Christina violinist.
Even gorilla experts from the European Zoo Association would not have seen any other way.
Dian was put down in her familiar surroundings.