A Kansas zoo is celebrating the 70th birthday of the oldest female chimpanzee in captivity on June 6.
The Sunset Zoo in Manhattan is hosting a party in its chimpanzee habitat today in honor of Susie’s 70th birthday.
‘Susie has always been a perfect carer. From being a wonderful mother to being the troop leader, our troop grandmother is respected and listened to by her other troop mates,” said Scott Shoemaker, director of Sunset Zoo. KSNT.
Susie is the second oldest chimpanzee behind joao – a male primate living at the Jane Goodall Institute in South Africa.
However, she is 11 years older than Europe’s oldest female chimpanzee, Coco.
Sunset Zoo in Manhattan Kansas celebrates chimpanzee Susie’s 70th birthday
Susie has lived at Sunset Zoo since 1974 and is currently the oldest female primate in the world.
Susie has lived at Sunset Zoo since 1974 and is one of five primates living in the habitat there.
She gave birth to three chimpanzees during her lifetime and made headlines in August 2010 after giving birth to a daughter named Nia when she was 56 years old.
“A few years ago we took Susie off birth control due to health concerns and we didn’t think she would get pregnant because of her age,” former Sunset Zoo curator Mark Ryan said at the time.
“Interestingly, we haven’t watched Susie go through any type of menopause and she was menstruating so irregularly that we didn’t think pregnancy would be in the cards.”
Nia is no longer at the zoo, but Susie’s partner Julian still lives in the chimpanzee habitat at Sunset Zoo.
Susie successfully breastfed Nia despite having a cataract in her eye in 2010, but she now receives special care from zookeepers.
“Susie receives additional supplements like Ensure drinks and is being treated for arthritis, but for her age she is extraordinary,” Sunset Zoo animal curator Kirk Nemechek told KSNT.
Zapatero spoke with WIBW last year and revealed that guests visiting Susie can watch her move around the garden or play with a blanket.
The Sunset Zoo is hosting a Sunflower birthday celebration for Suzie in her chimpanzee habitat today for all of their guests.
Susie has given birth three times in her life, the last being in 2010 with her partner Julian. Her baby was named Nia and Julian and Susie continue to live together in the habitat.
Susie has surprised Sunset Zoo keepers for years for reasons including her current age and the age she was when she gave birth to Nia.
The 70-year-old primate exceeded the average life expectancy of a chimpanzee in the wild, which according to studio.comaround 40 years old.
It also exceeded the lifespan of a chimpanzee in captivity, which according to the Northwest Chimpanzee Sanctuary He is between 50 and 60 years old.
It’s unclear if Susie has developed any other health problems since giving birth to Nia, but she remains comfortable in the Sunset Zoo sanctuary.
Daily Mail has contacted Sunset Zoo for comment.