Aging zoo animals get increased attention to help them live long, healthy lives

THEY’RE GETTING. THIS IS HASSAN IN HIS LATE TEENS, HE’S CONSIDERED A SENIOR CITIZEN HERE AT THE MARYLAND ZOO IN BALTIMORE. IN FACT, THE ZOO HAS A NUMBER OF AGING RESIDENTS LIKE ANNA AND CESAR. AND SO ELDER CARE IS CRUCIAL TO LIVING A LONG AND COMFORTABLE LIFE. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE COMFORTABLE, THAT THEY’RE EATING WELL AND THAT IF THEY’RE HAVING TROUBLE MOVING AROUND, WE MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THAT. AT 51, JOYCE IS THE OLDEST CHIMP AT THE ZOO. AND JUST LIKE PEOPLE, ANIMALS EXPERIENCE PHYSICAL CHANGES AS THEY AGE. JOYCE WE NOTICED, HAS SOME HIP ARTHRITIS. SHE IS A BIT SLOWER TO AND SHE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE SEDENTARY THAN SOME OF OUR OTHER CHIMPS. ANIMAL KEEPERS ARE REALLY THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND WHEN IT COMES TO SPOTTING CHANGES FOR HER ARTHRITIS. JOYCE IS GETTING PHYSICAL THERAPY, SO WE’LL DO DIFFERENT STRETCHES WITH HER FEET AND HER HIPS. JOYCE IS ON A JOINT SUPPLEMENT AND THEN SHE ALSO CAN GET IBUPROFEN AS NEEDED. LARGER ELDERLY ANIMALS ARE AT RISK OF DIFFERENT DISEASES. MANY MAY CHOOSE TO SLEEP STANDING UP BECAUSE IT’S JUST TOO DIFFICULT TO GET UP AFTER LAYING DOWN. AND SO THE STAFF HAS TO GET CREATIVE WITH INSTALLING THEIR VERSION OF SAFETY BARS FOR THE GIRAFFES AND THE ELEPHANTS. WE MIGHT PUT UP RAMPS FOR THEM. WE MIGHT GIVE THEM AREAS WHERE THEY CAN LEAN UP AGAINST WHILE THEY’RE SLEEPING. SO WE DEFINITELY DO TAKE A SIMILAR SORT OF APPROACH WITH ALL OF OUR ANIMALS MONITORING THEIR CARE JUST AS CLOSELY AS THEY DO THE BABY ANIMALS TO MAKE SURE THEY’RE LIVING THEIR BEST LIVES POSSIBLE. WE CAN’T EXACTLY MOVE THEM INTO OUR RETIREMENT HOME. NO, WE HAVE TO DO FULL LIFE CARE HERE AT THE ZOO IN BALTIMORE. JENNIF

Aging zoo animals get increased attention to help them live long and healthy lives.Baby animals at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, like the orphaned river otter, often get a lot of attention. But the zoo also has its share of senior citizens who require extra care and accommodation as they age."We have to make sure that they're comfortable, that they are eating well and if they're having trouble moving around. We make accommodations for that," said Margaret Innes, a general curator at the zoo.Innes said larger senior animals, like Caesar the giraffe and Anna the elephant, need to be monitored for different diseases. Giraffes and elephants also sleep lying down, but Innes said that as they age, they may choose to sleep standing up when getting up becomes too hard."We might put up ramps for them. We might give them areas where they can lean up against while they are sleeping," Innes said.It was during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that animal keepers noticed the zoo's oldest chimp, Joice, was slowing down. Now 51, Joice has arthritis in her hips, and in addition to ibuprofen, she gets physical therapy."We'll do different stretches with her feet and her hips," said Melissa Somogyi, one of the zoo's animal keepers. "She is a bit slower and a bit more sedentary than the other chimps.""You can't exactly move them into a retirement home. No, we have to do full-life care here at the zoo," Innes said.They also monitor her activity and behavior.

Aging zoo animals get increased attention to help them live long and healthy lives.

Baby animals at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, like the orphaned river otter, often get a lot of attention. But the zoo also has its share of senior citizens who require extra care and accommodation as they age.

"We have to make sure that they're comfortable, that they are eating well and if they're having trouble moving around. We make accommodations for that," said Margaret Innes, a general curator at the zoo.

Innes said larger senior animals, like Caesar the giraffe and Anna the elephant, need to be monitored for different diseases. Giraffes and elephants also sleep lying down, but Innes said that as they age, they may choose to sleep standing up when getting up becomes too hard.

"We might put up ramps for them. We might give them areas where they can lean up against while they are sleeping," Innes said.

It was during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that animal keepers noticed the zoo's oldest chimp, Joice, was slowing down. Now 51, Joice has arthritis in her hips, and in addition to ibuprofen, she gets physical therapy.

"We'll do different stretches with her feet and her hips," said Melissa Somogyi, one of the zoo's animal keepers. "She is a bit slower and a bit more sedentary than the other chimps."

"You can't exactly move them into a retirement home. No, we have to do full-life care here at the zoo," Innes said.

They also monitor her activity and behavior.

Aging zoo animals get increased attention to help them live long, healthy lives

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