World’s oldest Sumatran orangutan dies at 62

The world’s oldest Sumatran orangutan, which had 11 offspring and 54 descendants spread across the globe, has died aged 62, Australian zoo officials said yesterday.

Puan – Indonesian for “lady” – died on Monday at Perth Zoo, where it had lived since being gifted by Malaysia in 1968.

“She did so much for the colony at Perth Zoo and the survival of her species,” said Holly Thompson, its primate supervisor. “Her genetics count for just under 10 per cent of the global zoological population.”