Quote- "Colchester Zoo are very sad to announce the loss of Djambe, the female Orangutan on the 25th October. Djambe and her companion, Rajang had moved to the new Orangutan Forest enclosure at the beginning of October and had both coped well with the relocation under anaesthetic. However, during a medical examination at the time of the move an irregular shaped mass, possibly a tumour was found on the right side of Djambe's abdomen.
It was not possible to examine this further at the time, except to take blood samples for analysis, which were later found to show no abnormal levels. A few days later Djambe developed what was thought to be a respiratory infection and under veterinary guidance she was prescribed a course of antibiotics. This treatment programme was apparently successful and her condition appeared to improve. She was assessed by the zoo’s veterinary team on the 24th October and it was agreed that she had made a recovery from the respiratory infection and would be fit for a second anaesthesia to examine the mass in her abdomen. This was planned to take place in two weeks time involving a full anaesthesia, ultrasonograhpy to scan the abdominal mass and if it was considered the right course of action a biopsy of the mass.
On the Saturday morning (25th October) Djambe was quite herself; the keepers perceived everything to be normal with her as she was alert, responsive to their presence and fed as usual. However, late in the afternoon she was discovered dead.
It is not possible at this stage, to know if the mass in her abdomen was the cause of her death and a post mortem will take place in the next few days to determine this.
Djambe, was born in Stuttgart Zoo on the 8th July 1978 and came to Colchester Zoo in 1998. There is always a concern when an animal has to be anaesthetized and we were delighted that both Rajang and Djambe coped so well with this, we are obviously devastated by this turn of events."
It was not possible to examine this further at the time, except to take blood samples for analysis, which were later found to show no abnormal levels. A few days later Djambe developed what was thought to be a respiratory infection and under veterinary guidance she was prescribed a course of antibiotics. This treatment programme was apparently successful and her condition appeared to improve. She was assessed by the zoo’s veterinary team on the 24th October and it was agreed that she had made a recovery from the respiratory infection and would be fit for a second anaesthesia to examine the mass in her abdomen. This was planned to take place in two weeks time involving a full anaesthesia, ultrasonograhpy to scan the abdominal mass and if it was considered the right course of action a biopsy of the mass.
On the Saturday morning (25th October) Djambe was quite herself; the keepers perceived everything to be normal with her as she was alert, responsive to their presence and fed as usual. However, late in the afternoon she was discovered dead.
It is not possible at this stage, to know if the mass in her abdomen was the cause of her death and a post mortem will take place in the next few days to determine this.
Djambe, was born in Stuttgart Zoo on the 8th July 1978 and came to Colchester Zoo in 1998. There is always a concern when an animal has to be anaesthetized and we were delighted that both Rajang and Djambe coped so well with this, we are obviously devastated by this turn of events."
We didn't envisage that scenario, did we?
