Orangu-NAN! World’s oldest orangutan celebrates her 63rd birthday – making her the same age as Barack Obama, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Coolidge
- Bella was taken from the wild in 1964 and is estimated to have been born in 1961
- She celebrated her birthday at her home in Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg
With her bright orange fur and friendly face, you would be forgiven for mistaking this orangutan for a young animal.
But Bella is actually the world’s oldest living orangutan in captivity and celebrated her 63rd birthday this week.
Bella was taken from the wild in 1964 and is estimated to have been born in 1961, making her the same age as Barack Obama, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Coolidge.
She celebrated her birthday at her home in Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg, with a cake made from soft-boiled rice and fruit.
“Our orangutan lady turns 63 today and still holds the world record as the oldest Sumatran orangutan in human care,” the zoo said in a post on Instagram.
With her bright orange fur and friendly face, you would be forgiven for mistaking this orangutan for a young animal. But Bella is actually the world’s oldest living orangutan in captivity and celebrated her 63rd birthday this week
Normally, orangutans living in the wild live about 35-40 years, while those living in captivity can live to be about 50 years.
However, Bella has overcome all odds and since 2021 officially holds the Guinness World Record as the oldest living orangutan.
According to her caregivers, Bella is “honest, careful, curious, intelligent, loving and never aggressive.”
Over the course of her life, she not only had six children of her own, but also raised four adopted children who were not accepted by their mothers.
For this reason, she has earned the nickname “supermom.”
‘Because of her age, Bella no longer comes to the institution regularly. She usually does a few climbing rounds undisturbed in the evenings,” the zoo explains.
Not surprisingly, Bella has very few teeth left.
To ensure she could still join in the birthday celebrations, she was given a birthday cake of soft-boiled rice and assorted fruits, which she shared with one of her adopted children, Berani.
Bella isn’t the only old monkey to have recently celebrated a birthday.
Normally, orangutans living in the wild live about 35-40 years, while those living in captivity can live to be about 50 years. In the photo: Bella in 2015
Earlier this month, Fatou, the world’s oldest living gorilla, celebrated her 67th birthday.
Fatou was captured in the wild in 1959 and brought to France by a sailor, who used her as payment to pay his tab at a tavern.
Fatou was purchased the same year by the Berlin Zoo, where she has lived ever since.
“Today, capturing wild animals for zoos is no longer considered acceptable by the zoological community,” explains Guinness World Records.
“The vast majority of animals are now born in captivity or transferred between facilities for breeding programs.”