Josephine's Heart Condition
Posted at 3:22 pm June 4, 2007 by Kim LivingstoneWe are very fortunate at the San Diego Zoo to have the ability to exhibit siamangs and orangutans together in a state-of-the-art exhibit called Absolutely Apes. The animals have plenty of room to swing, brachiate, climb, lounge, and explore on a daily basis. Within this group of animals are two older female orangutans named Josephine and Janey. Janey is a Bornean orangutan who is 45 years old and Josephine is a 47-year-old Sumatran orangutan. They are both very significant because they are 2 of the 10 oldest orangutans in North American zoos. One of the oldest orangutans is a 53-year-old female who lives at Miami Metrozoo.
At Josephine's last medical check up in January 2007, it was determined that she was experiencing heart disease. Fluid had built up around her heart and needed to be drained. A team of doctors and veterinarians performed the procedure and Josephine was back to her old self in a short period of time. Recently, however, the keepers noticed that she was showing signs of lethargy. Her respiration had increased and her appetite was poor. These were all symptoms of her heart disease. Our veterinarians responded quickly by prescribing medications to manage her symptoms and by scheduling her for cardiac surgery to be performed here at the San Diego Zoo.
On Friday May 25, doctors from University of California, San Diego performed a quick surgery that created a window in her diaphragm that will allow pericardial fluid to drain into her abdominal cavity. Transesophageal ultrasound imaging performed during the procedure revealed poor cardiac function indicative of heart failure. Josephine recovered quickly from her surgery and was able to rest inside the orangutan bedrooms on Saturday. Her appetite increased and her respirations were back to normal. By Sunday, May 27, Josephine was ready to go outside into her habitat and be reunited with her orangutan family. Her 3-year old grandson, Cinta, was the first to greet his grandmother. As soon as Cinta laid eyes on her he slid down the climbing structure from high above and raced across the grass to grab onto Josie's leg and give her a big Cinta hug. He had clearly missed her! One by one, all of the other orangutans, Janey, Karen, Satu, Clyde, and Indah, all came over to greet her.
Today, Josephine has a glimmer in her eyes and more spunk in her step. She appears to be feeling much better and is happy to be back with her orangutan and siamang friends. The keepers and veterinarians will continue to closely monitor Josephine and manage her heart condition with medication. Every effort is put forth daily to make sure that animals like Josephine are comfortable and living a quality life here at the San Diego Zoo.
Kim Livingstone is the Heart of the Zoo team area lead at the San Diego Zoo.
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June 4th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Thank you, Kim, for the information. I dearly love Josephine, and do hope she will continue to improve. Her troop's response to her return was very moving. Orangs are beautiful people!!
June 4th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
I saw Josie this last Saturday June 2nd, she was playing with Janey and didn't seem that anything was wrong with her.. I hope she recovers completely, she's a beautiful lady orangutan.
June 5th, 2007 at 6:48 am
I don't think that Josehpine would have stood a chance if it weren't for the observent caring staff at the SDZ. to all the keepers and medical personnel who have allowed us to have josephine back to her old self a big Thank You. I am sure she is in the most caring and loving hands God Bless you
June 5th, 2007 at 8:39 am
Josephine is a special animal, and has extraordinary caregivers. She is blessed to be in a premier zoo with outstanding veterinary care. Her Orangatang family and fans are thankful she was able to be helped and is now back to her old self again. May she have many bright years ahead with family, fans, and keepers able to appreciate her and the medical staff continue to learn from her and able to help her.
June 5th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Sweet, sweet, sweet… I can just imagine little Cinta greeting grandma with a big hug. I'm so happy that she is feeling better - and that all of her family and friends are showing her how much they love her! Great story - thanks for sharing - and thanks for taking such great care of her. She's one lucky lady!
January 27th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Hi, you guys! I had to find the most recent update about Josephine on the list of blogs, and found this one from 6/7/2007 to write to you. I just read about what happened to Josephine, your beloved, successful painting artist orangutan, and I was really sad to read about her passing away. I did read about her heart condition and the procedured that the vets have done over the last year to keep her going, comfortable, and have a decent quality of life. Heart conditions, such as congestive heart failure, are very hard to treat and manage even for us humans, so I know that the vets have had a lot to deal with to make sure that Josephine was as healthy as they can keep her during the last year of her life. I'm pretty sure that the rest of the orang and siamang community miss her in their own ways and are making the best of their loss. She was the grand dame and matriarch of all of them! My condolences and sympathies to all of the keepers and staff that have worked with her, and had a lot of fun with her over the years, especially when Josephine started showing off her painting talent. I know that you all will greatly miss her, but I also know that she's in a better place just enjoying life as God intended for her to do! Josephine was a very lucky, blessed orangutan to be with all of you for the last 14 years of her life! You all have done a great job with her! Now, just remember the great times that she gave you all and everyone that came to SDZ to see her and her painting exhibitions.
In my prayers,
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL