Beni, our nine-year-old male Chimpanzee, has died after sustaining a deep cut on his leg last Saturday. Despite a week of close monitoring by our animal care and veterinary teams, he passed away on Friday.
When our team first discovered the cut, our Veterinarian team performed emergency surgery. Despite severe blood loss, Beni started showing some signs of recovery the day after. By the next day he became lethargic and lost interest in his food and water. Beni then underwent a further veterinary procedure for further diagnostics and treatments on Friday, however he did not recover from the anaesthetic due to his compromised state.
Beni was born at the Zoo nine years ago and was a much loved member of the Zoo’s Chimpanzee troop. Beni had a very cheeky personality and he made it easy for his carers, other Zoo staff and our visitors to fall in love with him. He will be sorely missed by all of us and we have all been very saddened by his death.
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Chimpanzees are an endangered species due to loss of habitat and poaching. We work with the Jane Goodall Institute to protect Chimpanzees and other primates in the wild by supporting sanctuaries, the reduction of illegal animal trafficking, and community learning to protect endangered apes in the wild.
