A three-year-old gorilla died Thursday after being slapped and knocked down by her 13-year-old father at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.

Baina, a silverback gorilla, had been separated from her family as part of an effort by zoo staff to get her father Samson to mate with an older female.

When the two were reunited, the 400-pound Samson slapped Baina causing her to fall to the concrete floor landing on her head. The attack happened in a holding area below the gorilla display, out of sight of the public.

"He simply jumped up, grabbed her and flung her and she apparently hit wrong and when she hit the floor, landed on the back of her head and had massive, massive brain damage," said zoo director Dr. Lee Simmons.

Dr. Simmons described the efforts by staff to keep Baina alive as “heroic." The young gorilla was given CPR at the zoo and was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center for a CAT scan, but by midday Thursday she was dead.

“It’s a sad day, a tragic day for the zoo," said Simmons, who adds the tragedy illustrates a fundamental truth about wild animals. "Not that I have anything against Walt Disney, but they make animals into human beings and they're not. They are what they are."

Samson remains in the holding area for now. Simmons describes Samson as “a genetically important animal." There are no plans to have the gorilla put down. For the time being, Samson will be kept away from younger female gorillas.

"That exhibit is probably my favorite one here at the zoo and I was just devastated to hear something so tragic happen,” said zoo visitor Jenny Guill. “I mean it's sad, but they're still wild animals."

When Maggie Simms comes up from Louisiana to visit her sister Jenny, a trip to the zoo is a must. News of the death put a shadow over her visit. "Very sad, very sad."

The Henry Doorly Zoo has displayed gorillas since 1966. The only other violent death of a gorilla at the zoo took place 38 years ago when an inexperienced mother climbed to the top of the display and dropped her newborn on the floor.