Chinta, female orangutan and oldest animal at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, died Tuesday at 51

Chinta, a female orangutan at Woodland Park Zoo, peacefully passed away Feb. 18, one day shy of her 52nd birthday. The beloved orangutan is the last remaining animal born at the zoo in the 1960s.
Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo

The oldest animal at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo died Tuesday morning -- the day before its 52nd birthday.

Article continues below this ad

In addition to being the oldest animal at the zoo, Chinta, a female orangutan, was one of the oldest orangutans in North America.

Chinta was born at Woodland Park Zoo in February 1968 and lived there her whole life. She was one of a set of twins -- the first-known pair of twin orangutans born in a zoo, giving them almost immediate celebrity status, according to a news release from Woodland Park Zoo. She and her brother were featured in Life magazine and elsewhere. Her brother Towan died in 2016.

"For five decades, people loved Chinta. She was an extraordinary individual. Orangutans are struggling in the wild and Chinta became a true ambassador for her species," Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at the zoo, said in an emailed news release.

Article continues below this ad

Chinta means "love" in Indonesian. Parties were thrown for Chinta and Towan's 30th and 40th birthdays, as well as Chinta's 50th.

Recently, Chinta has been resting in an off-exhibit bedroom where keepers could closely monitor her as she aged. Keepers noticed her slowing down in the last year, in addition to suffering intermittent bladder infections.

A necropsy has been performed on her, as is standard zoo procedure. The cause of death was pending final pathology tests, which could take several weeks.

Article continues below this ad

Woodland Park Zoo is home to four remaining orangutans. The females are 48 and 38 years old -- the younger is the daughter of the former and Chinta's late twin brother. The two males share a birthday with Chinta and will turn 31 and 11 on Wednesday.

Chinta's fans were invited to share stories about her on Woodland Park Zoo's Facebook page.

Orangutans are critically endangered, largely due to shrinking habitats from human overpopulation and deforestation. The zoo offers more information about orangutans at this link.