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Saarbrücken (dpa) - At the age of 60, chimpanzee Jonny is a little star at Saarbrücken Zoo.

"He is definitely one of the oldest chimpanzees there is," says zoo director Richard Francke.

"I don't know anyone in Europe who is older than Jonny."

30 to 35 years in the great outdoors are the rule, in human hands it could also be 45 to 55 years.

But 60?

That had to be celebrated: for his “birthday party” there were plenty of hidden delicacies in the enclosure.

"Jonny prefers to eat sweet," says Francke.

So a lot of bananas and other fruits.

"He's still relatively fit," says Francke, who is also a veterinarian.

The chimpanzee could also "do the really big show": throw balls, slam into doors and jump around.

"But after that he is pretty shaken."

And need a break.

A few weeks ago, Jonny had stress: Jimmy, the previous head of the group, had to be put down because of a liver disease.

Jonny took over the part. In the meantime, the five chimpanzees have rearranged themselves: "That took 14 days."

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Jonny has always been “a very sociable chimpanzee.

Always very friendly, »says Francke.

"He communicates well and happily - also with the animal keepers."

In 1969 the animal came to the Saarbrücken Zoo with three other chimpanzees at the age of eight.

The monkeys were previously laboratory animals.

“They were caught in the wild back then.

Chimpanzee breeding did not exist yet. "

There is no secret why Jonny has already grown so old in Saarbrücken, says Francke.

He probably had a good constitution.

And: "It is very well looked after here."

He also gets a lot of vegetables and protein - and drops of hawthorn for his heart.

"If he gets ten drops - he likes that a lot."

The Saarbrücken Zoo has a focus on keeping primates.

There are also three gorillas.

"And we're waiting for a third female."

A total of around 800 animals can be seen in the zoo.

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Jonny lives in a large chimpanzee enclosure: with two departments plus an outdoor area.

“He likes to go outside,” says Francke.

“There is a kind of high seat that he likes to look down from.

He has everything in view. "

How old is Jonny?

«Nobody can say that.

We hope it will last a long time, ”says the zoo director.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210506-99-486009 / 2

Chimpanzee Land Zoo Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken Zoo