Rita turns 58, zoo celebrates with cake
NEWDELHI: Birthday girl Rita, the oldest chimpanzee in India who turns 58 on Friday, was gifted a special woollen blanket, a ball and dry fruits for her big day by zoo authorities on Thursday.
The National Zoological Park in Delhi celebrated Rita’s birthday on Thursday, as the zoo remains shut on Fridays. School children were invited and a cake was cut to mark the occasion.
“Rita was given a variety of gifts, including dry fruits, a ball for her to play with and a special woollen blanket to keep her warm during the winter. The cake was distributed among everyone. Students and visitors later took selfies with the (carboard) cutout of Rita,” said Renu Singh, director of Delhi Zoo.
Rita was born in Amsterdam zoo on December 15, 1960. She was brought to Delhi when she was around four years old. Later, the zoo authorities brought a male chimpanzee named Max from the London zoo as her pair. The couple gave birth to four children but none of them survived.
Rita’s birthday celebration started around 11:30am with around 50 children from Ramjas School, RK Puram, marching down the zoo walkway, shouting, “One step towards Rita”.
Outside the chimpanzee’s enclosure, a lifesize carboard cutout of Rita was garlanded and kept. A cake, that also resembled Rita, waited for the children with the message “Happy Birthday, Rita” written on it.