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Her caretakers say she’s having a few joint issues and her eyesight isn’t what it used to be but she still looks good for an old ape.
“It’s a special milestone for us,” said Todd Bowsher, curator of the zoo’s Wilds of Africa exhibit. “It signifies that we’ve made great strides in veterinary care, nutrition and animal husbandry.”
The International Species Information System, which maintains records on animals at 700 institutions around the world, said Jenny is the oldest gorilla in its database.
“I think it’s amazing,” said Kristen Lukas, curator of conservation and science at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Ohio and the gorilla species survival plan coordinator for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “I think it’s a testament to the good care that she’s received at the Dallas Zoo and also the resilience of gorillas in general.”
Lukas said gorillas in the wild normally would live to age 30 or 35. Health care and protection from predators has extended the lifespan in zoos.
Of the roughly 360 gorillas in North American zoos, only four are over the age of 50. All of them are female. In addition to Jenny, Lukas noted Trudy at the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas, Colo at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio and Helen at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky.
Jenny gave birth in 1965 to a female named Vicki, who was sent to Alberta, Canada, at age 5. Zoo officials don’t know any more about Vicki. They aren’t sure why Jenny hasn’t conceived again.
Jenny’s keepers describe her as very sweet though a little bossy.
“If she doesn’t want to go out on a certain day, she doesn’t,” Bowsher said. “But she really likes people.”