The last silverback gorilla at the Johannesburg Zoo was rushed to surgery to remove a tumor found in his nasal cavity in South Africa.

Makoko, 35, had been in good health until zoo workers noticed he was having breathing difficulties.

The acute rhinitis of Makoko is caused by nasal polyps, which is an infection in his nasal passages. Without the surgery, Makoko would have got systemically ill and could have died since from complications caused by not being able to breathe through his nose. Surgeons have minimal experience performing this long and delicate surgery on gorillas.

(Cover image a screenshot from the video.)

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