Manu, Marco, Kurt, Minnie, Cat Ba, and Gordon
We recently lost one of our oldest and most emblematic primates, our Delacour’s female Manu. Like her, we can see some of our residents growing old and sometimes turning EPRC into their final resting place.
Which might makes you think, have you ever wonder about how old primates can be? And what actually is an old age for a primate? Well, 22 years is the average lifespan of a Langur. Gibbons can get older, around 35 years or sometimes over 40 years if in captivity and good care. Some of our keepers are quite young and it feels funny when they read the animal signs outside of the enclosures and realize that the primates they look after are older than themselves!
Usually animals can get older in captivity than in the wild. The care giver can support the old animals and it is also not at risk to be hunted by a predator. Old animals usually get problems with their teeth, so in captivity we can offer better and softer food preventing them from starving. When they get problems with their bones and muscles and cannot move well anymore we can accommodate them.
Marco, our Delacour’s Langur male, was born in 1993 and arrived in the Center when he was little. From the top of his 25 years of life experience, he sure looks like a grandpa! His body is a bit bended, his fur doesn’t look so proper like it was during his youth, and he moves quite slowly… But he still seems happy and shows no signs of suffering.
Here are our two Hatinh Langurs Kurt and Minnie, aged 22 and 23 y.o. respectively. This couple lived more than a decade in our semi-wild area. They had a lot of offsprings there, growing in the semi-wild. Now since they are really old and not breeding anymore we had to move them back in an enclosure where we can care for them with closer attention.
Our old female Cat Ba was born in 1998. She arrived when she was less than a year old, twenty years ago! She gave birth to 4 beautiful orange babies here, who have been growing in the center. She had some health problems lately, and had surgery to treat a hernia. Fortunately we have a caring veterinarian to ensure her well being and make her life easier!
Our Grey-Shanked Douc Langur Gordon was quite aggressive in the prime of his life and very protective towards his wife and kids. He did not hesitate to make it clear to the keepers that all the Langurs around belong to his family. He is more than 22 y.o. today and he got settled, more quiet and only makes sure that he gets enough food!
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