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The executive director of the Columbus Zoo has died.

51-year-old Jeff Swanagan, who came to the zoo last year after running the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, apparently suffered a heart attack at home.

Swanagan was an Ohio native and Ohio State University graduate who started his career at the Columbus Zoo in 1979 before leaving for Zoo Atlanta in the 1980s.

He eventually served as the deputy director of Zoo Atlanta, and he oversaw the Florida Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium during their start-up years.

Newspartner WBNS-TV contributed to this story