A zoo in Spain has shared this farewell video after a four-year-old chimpanzee that was born there suddenly passed away.
Coco, the four-year-old chimpanzee that was born in BIOPARC Valencia, Spain, sadly passed away last week due to necrotising meningoencephalitis.
Necrotising meningoencephalitis is a fatal inflammatory disease that affects the brain and often leads to lethargy, behavioural changes and seizures, leaving the affected patient in a state of depressed consciousness.
The medical condition was first recorded in the 1960s in pure-bred dogs and little is known about what causes it.
Newsflash obtained the footage from BIOPARC Valencia, along with a statement saying: “As part of a process assumed by chimpanzees naturally, after mourning, the group is stable and maintains its usual dynamics.
“Although the human team is very affected, its professionalism, as well as the commitment of the park and the BIOPARC Foundation to this species in serious danger of extinction is a priority and encourages perseverance in the necessary work for its conservation.
“The apparent vitality and normality in Coco’s behaviour did not foresee what happened and the technical staff has been overwhelmed by the unexpected death of this chimpanzee, which was born in BIOPARC Valencia in 2018.”
Coco had just turned four in July and was much loved by the whole team, the zoo said, from the day of its birth to mother Noelia in the outdoor enclosure.
The zoo participates in an important international conservation programme to preserve the species and said: “The fateful outcome has been very painful,”
Following Coco’s death, the team had the chimpanzee tested for COVID-19 and the tests turned out negative, after which specialised staff of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University determined that the cause has been necrotising meningoencephalitis.
The zoo said: “After accepting death as part of the evolution of life in the wild, the group of chimpanzees is calm and has continued their normal habits, with outings to the outdoor enclosure.”
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Both the Valencian park and the BIOPARC Foundation are actively engaged in preserving the species.
The zoo added: “For the group of animal care professionals it is difficult to face these losses, since their daily challenge is to offer the greatest welfare to all animals.
“Especially devastating is to face the death of an animal that they saw born and grow; the one they have pampered every day, from whom they knew their tastes and adored their character.”
