Friday November 1st, 2024 8:21AM

43-year-old orangutan dies at Zoo Atlanta

By The Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) A 43-year-old Sumatran orangutan has died at Atlanta's zoo. <br /> <br /> Zoo Atlanta says Alan was the oldest male Sumatran orangutan living in the North American population of apes managed by the Orangutan Species Survival Plan when he died Friday. <br /> <br /> The official cause of his death won't be known until the results of a necropsy come back in several weeks. Orangutans are considered geriatric after age 35, and Alan also suffered from heart disease. <br /> <br /> Alan was born May 3, 1971 at the Saint Louis Zoo. He was known for his impressive size, thick dreadlocks and affinity for shiny objects. <br /> <br /> Zoo Atlanta is home to North America's largest collection of orangutans. With fewer than 7,000 believed to remain in the wild, Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered.
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