Hyderabad: Chimpanzee dies at 35 in zoo

Bahadurpura: A 35-year-old female chimpanzee named Suzi died of a massive heart attack at the zoo in Bahadurpura, the authorities informed on Thursday. Suzi was the only chimpanzee at the zoo. Earlier, one chimpanzee died in 2012 at the age of 42 years. Their average life span is around 39 years in captivity.

The animal was quite normal with usual intake of fruits, sprouts, juices and coconut water till Wednesday, around 8:30 am on Thursday, the animal was found lying on the floor and the preliminary investigation revealed that the animal died around 7 to 8 in the morning. As per the post-mortem report, all the organs appeared normal except for heart and lungs where the symptoms indicated massive heart stroke. It was conducted by a veterinary expert team from VBRI LaCONES and veterinary college comprising Dr M Laxman, Professor & Head, Dr Y Laxman, Deputy Director (AH), Dr B Vijaya Bhaker Reddy, Asst. Director (AH), Dr B Sambasiva Rao, Sr. Scientist, LaCONES, CCMB, Dr M Navin Kumar, Deputy Director, Dr M A Hakeem, Deputy Director (Vet.), Dr G Shambhulingam, Asst. Director (Vet.), Dr S Abdul Asadullah, Vety. Asst. Surgeon, Dr Naveen, Consultant, along with the zoo veterinary team.

With the demise of Suzi, only 3-4 zoos in country are left with chimpanzees. With its loving behavior and antics, Suzi was very dear to the staff and visitors alike. It left the Nehru Zoo family with a huge void but wonderful memories to cherish.