DALLAS - The Dallas Zoo announced the sudden death of its president and CEO.
Gregg Hudson passed away last week after a brief battle with cancer.
"Words are simply not enough to express the magnitude of this unexpected loss," the Dallas Zoo said on Twitter.
Hudson became the president of the Dallas Zoo in 2006.
He led the zoo through the creation of a public/private partnership with the city of Dallas in 2009 and opened the Giants of Savanna habitat in 2010.
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Prior to that, he served as an executive director at the Fort Worth Zoo for 10 years and as the president and CEO of the Cincinnati Zoo for about five years.
"For all of his professional accomplishments, Gregg was a genuine, caring, wonderful person who built relationships easily, and held those relationships close to his heart. He was a friend and a mentor to so many, not only here in Dallas, but across the country and around the world. To say he will be greatly missed is an understatement," the zoo said on Twitter.
Hudson was in the news recently during the zoo’s investigation of missing animals and cut enclosures.
He gave media updates about security enhancements.