- Bella was collected from the wild in 1964 and is estimated to have been born in 1961.
- He celebrated his birthday at his home in the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg.
With its bright orange fur and friendly face, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this orangutan for a youngster.
But Bella is actually the world’s oldest living orangutan in captivity, having celebrated her 63rd birthday this week.
Bella was collected from the wild in 1964 and is estimated to have been born in 1961, making her the same age as Barack Obama, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Coolidge.
She celebrated her birthday at her home in Hamburg’s Hagenbeck Zoo with a cake made with boiled rice and fruit.
“Our lady orangutan turns 63 today and continues to hold the world record for being the oldest Sumatran orangutan in human care,” the zoo said in a post on Instagram.
With its bright orange fur and friendly face, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this orangutan for a youngster. But Bella is actually the world’s oldest living orangutan in captivity, having celebrated her 63rd birthday this week.
Typically, orangutans living in the wild live between 35 and 40 years, while those living in captivity can expect to reach around 50 years.
However, Bella has defied the odds and has officially held the Guinness World Record as the oldest living orangutan as of 2021.
According to her caregivers, Bella is “honest, prudent, curious, intelligent, loving and never aggressive.”
Throughout her life, she has not only given birth to six children, but has also raised four adopted children who were not accepted by their mothers.
This is why she has earned the nickname ‘supermom’.
‘Due to her age, Bella no longer comes to the facility regularly. “Usually at night she does a few laps undisturbed,” the zoo explained.
As expected, Bella has very few teeth left.
To ensure that she could join in the birthday celebrations, she was given a birthday cake made of boiled rice and various fruits, which she shared with one of her adopted children, Berani.
Bella isn’t the only old ape who has celebrated a birthday recently.
Typically, orangutans living in the wild live between 35 and 40 years, while those living in captivity can expect to reach around 50 years. In the photo: Bella in 2015.
Earlier this month, the world’s oldest living gorilla in captivity, Fatou, celebrated her 67th birthday.
Fatou was captured in the wild in 1959 and taken to France by a sailor, who used her as payment to pay his bill at a tavern.
Fatou was purchased that same year by the Berlin Zoo, where she has lived since.
“Today, the zoological community no longer considers it acceptable to capture wild animals for zoos,” Guinness World Records explained.
“The vast majority of animals are now born in captivity or transferred between facilities for breeding programs.”
