The oldest chimpanzee in Europe, Vieja, dies at the Barcelona Zoo. She was about fifty-seven years old and had been captured in Guinea
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himEventually she died at the zoo de Barcelona, far from her natural habitat. We are talking about the female chimpanzee, called Vieja, the oldest specimen of this species (Pan troglodytes) kept in a European zoo. She was about 57 years old and had come from Guinea when she was two.
The reason for the death is not yet known, although zoo officials are convinced that it occurred naturally due to the primate's advanced age. The female chimpanzee had arrived in Barcelona in 1965. A long journey by her from Equatorial Guinea which, at the time was a Spanish colony, where the Barcelona Zoo had created the Center for Animal Adaptation and Experimentation in 1960 in Ikunde.
Yesterday he left us our most veteran and beloved chimpanzee, the Vieja, who in her sixties was the oldest in Europe.
With a noble and affable character and as the matriarch of the group, she has been part of the history and evolution of the #Zoo, turned into a refuge for those of her species. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/oQhAKJZvhI
- zoobarcelona (@ZooBarcelona) May 7, 2020
Captured still as a cub, the female chimpanzee had been removed from her mother only to end up in a zoo and become a tourist attraction. A long life, but far from one's habitat, freedom and animal welfare.
“Our most loved and veteran chimpanzee has left us, la Vieja. He arrived at the zoo when he was more or less two years old and therefore today, at 57, he was considered the oldest of his kind in Europe ", writes the zoo on social media and continues" with a noble, affable and welcoming character, sometimes she led the group, becoming her matriarch and being a good mother and companion to all. Her long life is inevitably linked to the history and evolution of the Barcelona zoo, which today becomes a refuge for some of his species, considered endangered by the IUCN ”.
Yesterday he left us our most veteran and beloved chimpanzee, La Vieja. He arrived at the Zoo in 1965, from…
Posted by Zoo de Barcelona on Thursday, May 7, 2020
The zoo is divided into several thematic areas, most of the animals were born in captivity, as part of various breeding programs with other European zoos, others were caught in the wild and others are animals seized by the authorities. There are elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions, hippos, rhinos and many other species.
“Today we say goodbye to Vieja and we feel privileged and proud to have shared with her all this time and learned so much. We will miss you, ”says the zoo.
Source: Zoo Barcelona
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