Orangutan thought to be world’s oldest dies at Oregon Zoo. ‘She inspired generations’

An orangutan who may have been the oldest in the world has died, the Oregon Zoo said.

Inji, a 61-year-old Sumatran orangutan, died Friday, the Oregon Zoo said in a news release. The animal was the oldest resident of the zoo, and she could have been the oldest living orangutan in the world.

Orangutans in the wild rarely live to be older than 40, according to the zoo.

“We knew she couldn’t live forever, but this really hurts, and I know many visitors are grieving along with us,” Bob Lee, who oversees the zoo’s animal areas, said in the news release. “Inji’s ability to connect with people was incredible. She inspired generations.”

Inji lived most of her life with few health concerns. That changed in the past few weeks. She became stiff, and she “rarely left her nest box,” according to zoo. She lost interest in favorite foods.

“On Saturday, when it was apparent that pain medications were not helping, veterinary and care staff made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize her,” the zoo said.

The orangutan’s exact birth date is unknown to the zoo. Experts guess she was born in the wild sometime around 1960, and she came to the U.S. in a legal wild animal trade.

She joined the zoo in 1961, and zoo experts estimated she was about 1 year old at the time.

“We’re thankful that we were able to give Inji a good home, but it’s heartbreaking to think about the circumstances that brought her here,” Asaba Mukobi, the zoo’s senior primate keeper, said in the news release. “Even though the wild animal trade is illegal now, it still exists. It is considered a major threat to orangutans’ survival, along with human encroachment and habitat loss from palm oil plantations. Orangutans are at the brink of extinction — especially in Sumatra, where Inji came from.”

Orangutans are a critically endangered species, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

“Both species have experienced sharp population declines,” the World Wildlife Fund said on its website. “A century ago there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total, but the Bornean orangutan is now estimated at about 104,700 based on updated geographic range (Endangered) and the Sumatran about 7,500 (Critically Endangered).:

The animal shares about 96.4% of its genes with humans, and they are “highly intelligent creatures,” the World Wildlife Fund said.

“Building on that connection, we’re trying to create awareness about what’s happening to orangutans in their native lands and let people know how they can help,” Mukobi said.

This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Orangutan thought to be world’s oldest dies at Oregon Zoo. ‘She inspired generations’."