Lion Country Safari’s Peter the chimp dies at 43
LOXAHATCHEE — He was a longtime re sident of the western communities. He never went to polo or had a coffee at the food court at the Mall at Wellington Green. But in his 40-something years here, he made his mark on his special corner of Palm Beach County.
Peter, a 43-year-old chimpanzee and fixture at Loxahatchee’s Lion Country Safari, died Friday, according to Jennifer Berthiaume, spokeswoman for the 260-acre wildlife park. It is believed that he died of a heart attack, a common ailment for chimpanzees, but the official cause cannot be confirmed until the results of a necropsy, also known as an animal autopsy, said primate curator Tina Cloutier Barbour.
“I just remember him as having a really big heart. He brought a lot of joy to everyone who knew him,” said Barbour, who had worked with Peter since she came to the park in 2004.
Peter, who had lived at Lion Country Safari since he was 2 years old, left behind his constant companion, fellow chimpanzee Luna, 35, and their daughter, Orbit, 21.
Barbour said Peter was originally a resident of the park’s nursery, having been “a retired pet.”
“It’s shocking how often that happens,” she said. “They grow up quickly and have short tempers and are very, very strong. They do not make good pets, and people learn that very quickly.”
One of 18 chimpanzees at Lion Country, Peter “had a larger-thanlife personality. He would gesture these huge gestures to us, flip his lip at us. He was a big clown,” she continued. “We all really loved him very much.”
Although chimpanzees “don’t have mates, necessarily,” Peter and Luna “had been together for decades,” Barbour said.
When Lion Country staff came to the part of the park where Peter had died, Barbour said, “she did not want to leave his side. She does this thing when she’s frustrated with us, that she gestures to us. We said ‘Luna, come on, please, we want to have you move.’ But she was like ‘I am not leaving.’ She was definitely mourning.”
Peter was one of the older chimpanzees at Lion Country Safari, “although there are quite a few older. We have a large number of geriatric animals,” Barbour said. “The median age of a chimpanzee in captivity is 32. Peter had a nice, long life. He was more one of the guys. He had a really lowkey personality.”
There are no public remembrances planned for Peter. The last time the park lost a chimpanzee, “it was really, really awful,” Barbour said. “We made a big poster board that reminded us about him. ... We’ll probably do an in-house memorial and all grieve together.”
Personally, Barbour will remember Peter for the joy he brought to people, exemplified by his pant hoot, “which is a sound (chimpanzees) make. He made it when he was happy. I always remember he had such a distinct one. He was just a happy chimp.”