The San Francisco Zoo mourns the passing of Cobby, the 63-year-old chimpanzee who sports a gray beard and a favorite by visitors in the zoo.
He passed away last Saturday, May 5, in the San Francisco Zoo. Cobby was heralded as the oldest male chimpanzee in an accredited North American Zoo, according to zoo officials.
An elderly Chimpanzee sits on a tree in its enclosure at Taronga Zoo on July 14, 2006, in Sydney, Australia. Primatologist Dr Jane Goodall visited the zoo to raise awareness of the plight of wild Chimpanzees. The zoo's colony of Chimps includes several family groups and three of the oldest Chimpanzees in zoos. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)
Cobby, the Oldest Chimpanzee in A US Zoo
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Cobby, the oldest male chimpanzee in a North American zoo, was a performing chimpanzee who was raised by humans, ABC 7 News reported. Zoo officials said that he is close with his caregivers and chimpanzee troop members, adding that they will miss Cobby's signature "goodnight" to them that includes a soft pant-hoot.
He was brought to the zoo in the 1960s together with two female chimpanzees who were his companions for 42 years. They are Minnie and Maggie, who are both 52 years old.
Cobby's passing was a devastating loss to the zoo, its visitors, and most especially to Cobby's troop of chimpanzees. Tanya M. Peterson, the CEO and executive director of the San Francisco Zoological Society, said that Cobby was a charismatic and compassionate leader to his troop and will be sorely missed.
"Cobby enjoyed resting on the various platforms, snacking on his favorite foods, and even as a senior, climbing up high to hang out with his favorite girl Minnie," the zoo officials said, according to NBC News.
Even though Cobby passed away without a living offspring, his nickname was "Papa." He and his group were moved to the new Great Ape Passage in 2019, where geriatric animals were put to interact with younger troop members.
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How Long Can Chimpanzees Live?
According to an article in Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, chimpanzees in captivity who survived their first birthday have a median life expectancy of around 31.7 years for males and 38.7 years for females.
These numbers were given by Lincoln Park Zoo's ChimpDATA based on 35 years of records from Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) institutions.
The infancy period in chimpanzees remains a high-risk period for both those living in the wild and even in captivity. Half of them could die before the median age, and another half could die after.
Future data from sanctuaries might enlighten how captive environments and life histories might affect the life expectancy of chimpanzees.
On the other hand, the life expectancy of chimpanzees living in the wild tends to be similar or lower with captive chimpanzees. Studies suggest that the average life expectancy for those who live in the wild could be between 12 to 15 years. But of course, there are those who live up to 27 years with the oldest will chimpanzee was estimated to have lived for 63 years old when she died.
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Check out more news and information on Chimpanzees in Science Times.