INDIANAPOLIS — Less than a month after the death of a male lion named Nyack, the staff at the Indianapolis Zoo are mourning the loss of another animal in their care.
Kim, a 39-year-old Bornean orangutan, died on Tuesday, the zoo announced Wednesday.
Her death leaves her 3-year-old son, Max, an orphan.
Kim and Max were in poor health when they came to Indy in 2016. They were brought to Indianapolis to receive care from the experts at the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center.
Max improved rapidly in his onewhome, but Kim struggled with respiratory issues that never cleared up. A necropsy showed Kim died from respiratory disease.
Max has lost his mother, but he won’t be alone. He is being cared for by his surrogate mother, Knobi.
“We remember Kim fondly as a sweet and gentle orangutan,” the Indianapolis Zoo wrote on Facebook. “She will be missed.”
(Photos by the Indianapolis Zoo.)
