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World's Oldest Orangutan Dies

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 31, 2007

Updated: 12/30/2007 11:57 pm

MIAMI - A 55-year-old Sumatran orangutan, thought to be the world's oldest, died Saturday, according to a Miami zoo spokesman.

Nonja, who was born on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and has lived in Miami since 1983, was found dead Saturday morning, said Ron Magill, spokesman for the Miami Metro Zoo.

"Everybody's very sad, especially with an animal like an orangutan," Magill said. "You see a lot of yourself in these animals. The great apes are our closest relatives."

A necropsy showed that Nonja suffered a brain hemorrhage. Further testing will determine what caused the hemorrhage. The results could take two weeks.

A typical life span for Sumatran orangutans is 40 to 50 years, he said.
Nonja had slowed down in recent years because of her age, Magill added, but "wasn't geriatric by any means."

"She was really a grand old dame," Magill said. "She really was."

The Associated Press

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