Aging zoo animals

C

Chris79

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Interesting article from the UK Guardian regarding longevity in zoos. The gist is that improved veterinary skills and husbandry have prolonged life, but have also brought a whole range of health problems for geriatric animals.

Menopausal gorillas and dementia in lemurs? Who knew? (That's a rhetorical question, by the way ;))

What to do with an aged lemur?

Edit: Just realised my topic title looks wrong - I've spelt "ageing" the American way ;)
 
You're touching a very important subject in current zoo medicine here, which is very similar to the already longer existing situation in pet animals. This entails a slew of problems, among others what to do with highly social animals like primates when they are driven out of the group due to old age (euthanasia, senior groups, solitary???), constantly delayed euthanasia because the animal has become very popular with the staff and the public, change of diets, apt medication...
 
The same article ran in our local newspaper this morning, accompanied by some information from our zoo. Speaking from experience it is hard on zoo staff when animals are nearing the end of their lives. We work closely with many of these animals from birth to death. It helps tremendously to have a caring, supportive vet staff. Our vet will talk with any keepers about animal health issues, quality of life, and discuss all options. Keepers, however, generally don't want to see the animals in their care suffer. We don't make the decision to euthanize any animal easily. In our case, the vet, the curator, and the area supervisor must all agree. We explain the decision to the keepers and allow them time to say their good-byes. Many times tears are shed.
When our elderly dingo took a sudden, dramatic turn for the worse last winter the entire zoo staff pitched in to help: maintenance crews cleared the ice from the path to the barn, office staff offered condolences, vet staff allowed us a few extra minutes with him, and keepers from other areas sent cards and gve us hugs.
 
old animals

Auckland Zoo still has the last remaining "tea party" chimpanzee in one of the oldest enclosures in the zoo .
This female chimpanzee has had her home in this enclosure for many years and still comes out on occasions ( especially if she sees/hears keepers in the vicinity ) The zoo had decided to keep the tea party chimps together in a seperate enclosure away from the other chimps as there was severe reintegration and behavioural problems . But as many zoo public still remember the chimps , they were retired within the zoo as opposed to behind the scenes , and also so the chimps will still be in reasonably familiar environment .
When this last chimp dies , the enclosure will be demolished and the area open to future development .....
Although the old chimp prefers to stay indoors alot of the time , I have seen her
outside on a few occasions , and she has a good rapport with zoo staff .
 
How long do chimps live? I always thought it was up to 60 years in captivity. Is this correct?
 
That Chimp you mention Nigel is called Janie and interestingly she is a diabetic..!
 
CZJimmy said:
zoo vets would prepare a similar treatment method that humans use (I think...)
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Yes, this is sometimes possible. Some of the chimps can even be trained to give themselves the injections. However, this is no true for all cases.
One important approach is to change the diet. The reason why more and more species (including birds like toucans and maybe even reptiles) in zoos are diagnosed with diabetes is the high sugar content of the fruits they are fed. The fruits we breed, consume and give to the zoo animals are bred to be much sweeter than the wild-growing ones. A low-sugar approach can be helpful in some mild cases.
 
NZ Jeremy said:
That Chimp you mention Nigel is called Janie and interestingly she is a diabetic..!
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I believe she originally came with a small group of others from London Zoo- already trained as 'tea party' chimps by the London Zoo staff.
 
Is there an easy way to reduce sugar in fruit given to captive animals?
 
Rachnos said:
Is there an easy way to reduce sugar in fruit given to captive animals?
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Of course there is an "easy"one available-feed them less of it, and instead more vegetables, with a higher amount of crude fibre and much less sugar. Some lucky zoos with the apt connections and conditions might now and then resort to "primal" varieties of fruits with a lower amount of sugar, but this option is usually rather limited.
 
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Pertinax said:
I believe she originally came with a small group of others from London Zoo- already trained as 'tea party' chimps by the London Zoo staff.
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She came from Africa via London Zoo... Both groups of Tea Party Chimps came that way to Auckland and I believe some to Australian zoos also...
 
I hope they like this new diet. Won't it cause stress to have a change in diet?
 
I was just thinking that if for example I changed from a strick long-term diet of toast and pasta and all of a sudden started eating roast beef and turkey every day, I might feel a little strange as my digestive system may not agree with it immediately.

On the other hand, point taken. It may not "stress" them but they may have a change in personallity.
 
Most serious zoos don't have to and won't make such drastic changes...

And I doubt that a more or less slightly changed diet will have a Dr. Jeckyll and Mr.Hyde-like effect...;)
 
Here's an article about Toronto Zoo's old timers:

Aasha the hornbill can't stare back at its visitors at the Toronto Zoo.

The 40-year-old exotic bird is blind, and -- like many animals at the zoo -- trucking along in its golden years.

"Animals in zoos are doing a good job compared to how it is out there," said Siegfried Hekimi, a biology professor at McGill University.

"Animals in the wild only reach a fraction of their potential life-span."

Tessa and Tequila are two wrinkly youngish seniors in their late 30s. The African elephants are basking in the sun at their Scarborough home; it's not Florida, but it will do.

In the wild they could be expected to live up to 50 years.

Animals at the zoo are protected from predation, injury, and starvation, but "survival of the fittest even happens in the zoo," said Graham Crawshaw, Toronto Zoo senior veterinarian.

Despite their extended life-spans, animals in captivity develop degenerative diseases not normally associated with wild animals, Crawshaw pointed out.

Arthritis, cancer, kidney and liver problems keep some animals out of commission.

"An animal that is old and incapacitated in the wild may be picked on and ostracized from the group," Crawshaw said.

"And in some cases, that can happen in the zoo."

Hospitals and retirement areas at the zoo provide care for animals that can no longer adapt.

Diagnosing degenerative animal diseases has also improved, Crawshaw said.

Ailing animals are sent to the University of Guelph to receive some procedures such as MRIs and CT scans.

But sometimes an animals life has to be cut short. Dinding, a 50-year-old orangutan, was put down earlier this week.

"When we recognize that an animal is suffering -- and, medically, we aren't able to do anything to alleviate the pain, suffering, or discomfort, then we will elect euthanasia -- in the same way you would with your cat or dog," Crawshaw said.

An autopsy is done when an animal dies at the zoo.

The remains are then incinerated, or used for educational purposes.
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TorontoSun.com - Toronto And GTA - It's a zoo out there for senior citizens
 
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