The longest-lived resident and chimp matriarch of Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo, Jessie, has died.
She was 46-years-old, and was born at the zoo on July 10, 1978.
In a Facebook post, Wellington Zoo said she had lived at the zoo her entire life.
“She was a big character, beloved of Zoo visitors and Zoo whānau alike. She loved attention from her Keepers. She would greet them when they came into the house in the morning and give them a send-off on their way out. Jessie helped our Keepers out by retrieving things that fell in the habitat or clearing slides when they were blocked by straw.”
The post said Jessie had formed a “strong friendship” with the youngest chimp in the community, Akida, and was often babysitting him for the mother, Sally.
“Of all Jessie’s gorgeous qualities, perhaps the most well-known was that she loved colourful shoes and could never get enough of sparkly boots or exciting shoelaces.”
The Wellington Zoo animal care and veterinary teams monitored the ongoing health of all zoo animals.
But in recent months, the zoo said Jessie’s health had noticeably deteriorated due to age-related conditions, including degenerative arthritis, that we were no longer able to manage with pain medication.
“As time went on, she was eating less food, staying inside more, and not interacting with the other Chimps.
“As with all the animals we care for, Jessie’s welfare and quality of life are our top priorities, and this week we made the difficult decision to euthanise her.
“Jessie was well-loved by everyone at Te Nukuao Wellington Zoo and our wider community and will be greatly missed. As we say haere ra, we honour the role Jessie played in inspiring us to learn more about Chimpanzees and what we can do to help save their wild habitats.”
Wellington Zoo asked people who had met Jessie to share their memories on its Facebook post.
Yesterday, Wellington Zoo announced the death of a kiwi named Rāwhiti, after a wire in its stomach led to a severe infection.
The zoo said Rāwhiti began “showing signs of sickness” last Wednesday after “being off her food for 2-3 days”. A recent health check prior to this showed “no signs” of illness.