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Colo, World's Oldest Gorilla, Turns 60

by VOA News

   The oldest gorilla in the world is turning 60 and is celebrating with a
   party, complete with decorations, presents and a cake made of apples
   and tomatoes.
   Colo, a celebrity since birth, was the first gorilla to be born in
   captivity at the zoo in the midwestern U.S. city of Columbus, Ohio.
   She is the mother of three, grandmother of 16, great-grandmother of 12
   and great-great-grandmother of three.
   She recently had surgery to remove a malignant tumor, but doctors say
   she's doing well.
   She already has surpassed the median life expectancy for female
   gorillas in human care (37.5 years) by more than two decades. Her
   longevity is putting a spotlight on the medical care, nutrition and
   up-to-date therapeutic techniques that are helping lengthen zoo
   animals' lives.
   On her 56th birthday, Colo, a western lowland gorilla, exceeded the
   record for longest lived gorilla.
   Colo is one of several elderly gorillas around the country. The oldest
   known living male gorilla, Ozzie, is 55 years old and lives at the
   Atlanta Zoo, which has a geriatric gorilla specialty.
   "Geriatrics is probably one of our most common medical challenges that
   we face in a zoo situation,'' said Dr. Keith Hinshaw, director of
   animal health at the Philadelphia Zoo. "So pretty much anything that
   you could imagine would happen with an older person is going to happen
   eventually with any animal.''
   That's up to and including medication: JJ, a 45-year-old orangutan at
   the Toledo Zoo, is on the human heart medicines Carvedilol and
   Lisinopril, along with pain and orthopedic medications. He also takes
   Metamucil.