BLOOMINGTON - Chloe is gone but not forgotten. The Miller Park Zoo river otter, which was thought to be pregnant, has died of liver cancer, zoo officials said Wednesday afternoon.

"There were no pups at all, just a tumor," said John Tobias, zoo superintendent.

Chloe, 10, will be missed by zoo staff and visitors, but at least the end came quickly, he said.

At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Chloe continued to exhibit the normal appearance and behavior of a pregnant otter, but about 11 a.m., her condition rapidly declined, Tobias said. She apparently found it increasingly hard to rest comfortably and her eyes became glassy, he said.

She was taken to a veterinarian clinic, where she died during examination.

"It was determined by the doctors that she had liver cancer that had spread throughout her organs. The condition was not treatable," zoo officials said in a news release.

The cancer wasn't discovered earlier because Chloe's behavior and appearance before Wednesday morning mimicked that of a pregnant otter, Tobias said.

"After reviewing the husbandry manual published by the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), it was determined she should not be physically examined by a veterinarian," he said.

A subdued Tobias said he will miss Chloe, and it was uncertain whether the zoo will get another otter to keep the 3-year-old male otter, Ozzie, company.

"We'll have to look to see if any are available, if there's a waiting list and if we can afford it," Tobias said.

If the zoo is able to get another otter, Tobias would prefer a younger female otter. "We'd like to breed otters here," Tobias said.

Chloe, he said, will be cremated, which is standard practice.

Tobias wasn't the only one sad Wednesday.

Zookeeper Wendy Klessig, who was feeding Ozzie fish in an afternoon feeding, said: "It's a sad day. We were all hoping for babies."

Klessig said she suspects Ozzie, who scampered after fish as if nothing had happened, will miss Chloe in a day or two.

The otters had become celebrities of sorts, thanks to a webcam set up to allow Internet users to watch Chloe and the pups people hoped for. The webcam had 225,000 hits since it was launched Friday.

This is the second time recently that the public had hoped for a baby at the zoo and been disappointed.

Last year, there was excitement about bald eagle eggs at the zoo, but one of Beauty's eggs disappeared and the other was infertile.

Still, Tobias hopes people remember the joy Chloe brought them.

"I hope people enjoyed seeing her and will miss her," he said.