San Diego Zoo: Josephine’s Heart Condition
Posted at 3:22 pm June 4, 2007 by Kim Livingstone
Source: San Diego Zoo blog
We are very fortunate at the San Diego Zoo to have the ability to exhibit siamangs and orangutans together in a state-of-the-art exhibit called Absolutely Apes. The animals have plenty of room to swing, brachiate, climb, lounge, and explore on a daily basis. Within this group of animals are two older female orangutans named Josephine and Janey. Janey is a Bornean orangutan who is 45 years old and Josephine is a 47-year-old Sumatran orangutan. They are both very significant because they are 2 of the 10 oldest orangutans in North American zoos. One of the oldest orangutans is a 53-year-old female who lives at Miami Metrozoo.
At Josephine’s last medical check up in January 2007, it was determined that she was experiencing heart disease. Fluid had built up around her heart and needed to be drained. A team of doctors and veterinarians performed the procedure and Josephine was back to her old self in a short period of time. Recently, however, the keepers noticed that she was showing signs of lethargy. Her respiration had increased and her appetite was poor. These were all symptoms of her heart disease. Our veterinarians responded quickly by prescribing medications to manage her symptoms and by scheduling her for cardiac surgery to be performed here at the San Diego Zoo.
On Friday May 25, doctors from University of California, San Diego performed a quick surgery that created a window in her diaphragm that will allow pericardial fluid to drain into her abdominal cavity. Transesophageal ultrasound imaging performed during the procedure revealed poor cardiac function indicative of heart failure. Josephine recovered quickly from her surgery and was able to rest inside the orangutan bedrooms on Saturday. Her appetite increased and her respirations were back to normal. By Sunday, May 27, Josephine was ready to go outside into her habitat and be reunited with her orangutan family. Her 3-year old grandson, Cinta, was the first to greet his grandmother. As soon as Cinta laid eyes on her he slid down the climbing structure from high above and raced across the grass to grab onto Josie’s leg and give her a big Cinta hug. He had clearly missed her! One by one, all of the other orangutans, Janey, Karen, Satu, Clyde, and Indah, all came over to greet her.
Today, Josephine has a glimmer in her eyes and more spunk in her step. She appears to be feeling much better and is happy to be back with her orangutan and siamang friends. The keepers and veterinarians will continue to closely monitor Josephine and manage her heart condition with medication. Every effort is put forth daily to make sure that animals like Josephine are comfortable and living a quality life here at the San Diego Zoo.
Kim Livingstone is the Heart of the Zoo team area lead at the San Diego Zoo.
