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The female king penguin »Grandma« in the Wuppertal Zoo: Deformed beak, restricted mobility and visual impairment due to cataracts
Photo:
Claudia Philipp / dpa
At the record breaking age of at least 46 years, the female king penguin »Grandma« died in the Wuppertal Zoo.
According to research by the institution, the animal was by far the oldest king penguin in a zoo worldwide.
In nature, they have a life expectancy of up to 20 years, said a zoo spokesman on Wednesday.
As far as he knows, the oldest living king penguin in human care is currently 37 years old.
Generations of animal keepers looked after "Grandma" and her fellow animals in Wuppertal, so that today it is no longer known how she was called in younger years.
It was not yet hatched from the egg, according to the information collected in the Antarctic.
Hatched in South Africa, it came to Wuppertal via the Netherlands in 1975 at the age of at least one year, when the zoo purchased twelve king penguins for a new facility.
"Grandma" then raised three young animals herself, they said.
According to the zoo, the elderly have hardly eaten lately and have no longer taken part in group life.
After her condition had not improved despite treatment, she was put to sleep last week.
A deformed beak, restricted mobility and visual impairment due to cataracts have not prevented them from actively participating in the life of the colony in recent years, it said.
She even found a new partner in 2018 when King Penguins played at Basel Zoo.
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wit / dpa
