On April 13, the Berlin Zoo in Germany held a grand birthday party to celebrate the 65th birthday of Fatou the orangutan.
The party included a tray of rice cakes and rich fruits, brightening the zoo grounds. Fatou, known as the oldest living orangutan on record, both in the wild and in captivity, was extremely excited about this special event. Photos captured the moment Fatou happily enjoyed a rice cake decorated with berries in the shape of the number 65, placed on layers of lush green leaves, his favorite food.
Fatou was brought to the Berlin Zoo in 1959 in a rare situation. A sailor at that time used a young female orangutan (Fatou) to pay for the table in a bar in Marseilles, France, and then, it was taken around Europe by its buyers before being acquired by the Berlin Zoo. When she arrived at the zoo, experts estimated Fatou to be 2 years old.
In 2019, Guinness World Records awarded Fatou the title of “oldest living orangutan in captivity” after Trudy, another orangutan born in 1956, died. Fatou was born in the wild, and living to this point in captivity is a record, because normally orangutans in the wild only live about 50 years, according to the Guinness Book of Records.
With that, at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg (Germany), there is also a female orangutan named Bella who is 63 years old.
When Bella celebrated her 63rd birthday, the animal was recognized by Guinness as the world’s oldest living orangutan in captivity. Bella is a female Sumatran orangutan, estimated to have been born in 1961.
Bella the orangutan at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg in 2015. Photo: TGR
Bella began living at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg (Germany) in 1964. To date, the zoo staff consider Bella to be “in the best condition”. On her 63rd birthday, Bella was given a birthday cake made of cooked rice and fruits.
The zookeeper commented that Bella is a gentle, curious, intelligent and lovable orangutan. Bella gave birth to 6 children and raised 4 other young orangutans when their biological mother did not accept them, so Bella is also known as a “super mother”. At her current age, she does not have many teeth left, so Bella’s favorite food is semolina porridge with salty Maggi sauce or honey sauce; in addition, Bella also likes to eat soft fruits and vegetables.
The average lifespan of an orangutan in the wild is usually only 35 to 40 years, but this number can extend to around 50 years when they live in captivity.
