Judy, one of the oldest chimpanzees in the world, has died | the Chronicle

This Sunday, we learned of the death of Judy, the older chimpanzee of all Europe. With 49 years, the mammal born in 1972 She arrived at the Living Nature Park in the Italian town of Bussolengo to form a historic colony, made up of eleven members who accompanied her until her last moments.

The news came from the province of Verona with a sad note: “At 9:32 a.m., Judy closed her eyes and fell asleep forever“Eight times mother and grandmother, the social role Judy played in the group is evidenced by the reaction of her colleagues to her death, captured by surveillance cameras and reported by park managers:

Judy had woken up earlier than the rest of her classmates and after having breakfast she lay in the sun, the news agency reported. ANSA. After going for a walk with Davidino, the dominant male of the herd, the chimpanzee he last laid down under his favorite tree.

When he realized that the matriarch was not moving, Tommy, her life partner, approached her body and tried to shake her. Before the emphatic movements, the rest of the colony approached, believing it to be an attack and trying to separate Tommy from Judy. The male only took the old woman by the leg and led her to one of the caves in the reserve, out of sight of all.

When park officials noticed the monkey’s strange behavior, they approached and found out the sad news. Immediately, a warden organized an emergency return of all the chimps to the internal corridors, where Tommy himself, once again, I was pulling Judy without letting go.

Catherine spiezioThe head of the park’s research and conservation sector, shared that age has already started to take its toll on the chimpanzee, which relied on its hearing to recognize park managers: “His advanced age had gradually tested his eyesight and gaze after recognizing the voice, squinting a little to recognize us better“he recalled.

Judy belonged to a endangered species in Equatorial Africa, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, already one of the subspecies less represented in zoos in Europe. His contribution was precious in life and will be so even after his death: his genetic heritage will be perpetuated by Valentina, his daughter and by Judith, his niece.