The world’s oldest male Tamandua in human care died in Zurich Zoo on Wednesday. Lorenzo was born in Dortmund Zoo in June 1999 and came to Zurich in 2014 at an advanced age. In the past few weeks, his need for rest and his morning trips with the zookeepers to the visitor area and to the kitchen have become shorter. The 20-year-old Tamandua has not woken up from his last sleep. Lorenzo was the last Tamandua at Zurich Zoo, as the zoo announced on Thursday.
Tamanduas are small anteaters. They recreate ants and termites on the ground and as good climbers in the trees. Their natural distribution area is in South America.
6 year old tapir female put to sleep
Also on Wednesday, Zurich Zoo had to say goodbye to the 6-year-old flatland tapir female Oroja. According to the zoo, Oroja has had some violent epileptic seizures since Sunday, which could no longer be controlled with medication. She suffered repeated injuries in these attacks. In addition, due to the risk of drowning in the event of a seizure, it had to be kept away from all pools, although water is an important part of the habitat of tapirs.
With their body weight of around 200 kilograms, the seizures also posed a risk to the other animals and the caregivers. For this reason, the veterinarians decided to put them to sleep after a recurring attack. Oroja has shown various “panicky” behaviors in the past, which may be related to this condition.
There have been several deaths in Zurich Zoo in the past few weeks. Koala Mikey died of leukemia in December and a crocodile had to be shot after an attack on a nurse. The popular electric eel also died at the end of November.
(Wed)
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