News

Actions

34-year-old orangutan dies at Columbus Zoo

Posted at 9:35 AM, May 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-24 09:40:03-04

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A 34-year-old orangutan named Sally has died at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

The zoo says Sally died while undergoing treatment for pneumonia. Zoo officials say she had a chronic respiratory disease, which she had been treated for several times in recent years.

Officials say the respiratory disease made Sally more susceptible to pneumonia. She died Saturday.

The Sumatran orangutan arrived at the Columbus Zoo in 2006 from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. Zoo officials say the median life expectancy for a Sumatran orangutan in a North American zoo is 28 years.

The zoo's Facebook page says Sally's animal-care team described her as a "sassy princess" with a feisty personality.

The Sumatran orangutan is a critically endangered species with fewer than 15,000 found in their native habitat.