The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is one of only eight facilities in the United States that currently house bonobos, the last ape species to be discovered by Western scientists. I was lucky to call her my friend for the last 25 years, and I will miss her gentle nature and amazing smile.” "She was the most beautiful bonobo and was a truly an amazing ambassador for her species. She had an extremely close relationship with bonobo Susie and, even as adults, I would often see the two of them play and laugh like children,” said Audra Meinelt, curator of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Congo Expedition region. “Lady had a very sweet and reserved personality, and she absolutely loved her keepers…ready for belly rubs when she greeted them daily. She gave birth to twin boys in 1995, one of whom survived and resides at the Milwaukee County Zoo a daughter in 1996 named “Tamia” who resides at the Milwaukee County Zoo a daughter in 2002 named “Jo-T” who resides at the Jacksonville Zoo and a son in 2015 named “Max II” who resides at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Along with fellow bonobos, Jimmy, Toby, and Susie, Lady arrived at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in November 1990 from the Limburgse Zoo in Belgium. After serious complications were noted during recovery, the difficult choice was made to humanely euthanize Lady. A medical examination on Novemrevealed the worsening of her condition, as well as the development of additional heart disease. Recently, Lady was noted to be more subdued than normal and not interacting with the other bonobos and Animal Care staff as often. To this day, Lady has been monitored closely by Congo zookeepers and Animal Health staff and was also trained to receive blood pressure measurements while awake. Being a serious medical condition, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium partnered with both OhioHealth and the Great Ape Heart Project, and medical management was elected for Lady. In 2017, Lady was noted to have an aortic dissection during a routine examination under anesthesia. Powell, OH-The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is mourning the loss of Lady, a 40-year-old bonobo, who drew much-needed attention to her endangered species as one of the four original founder animals of the Columbus Zoo’s bonobo program when she arrived in 1990.
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