World’s oldest Sumatran orangutan dies

Puan, aged 62, described as the “grand old lady” of Perth Zoo, was euthanised on Monday due to age-related complications.

File photo shows Sumatran orangutan, known as Puan, which is Indonesian for lady, at Perth Zoo where she has lived since being gifted by Malaysia in 1968. Puan, the world's oldest Sumatran orangutan, who had 11 children and 54 descendants spread across the globe, has died aged 62, zoo officials said on June 19, 2018.

The world’s oldest known Sumatran orangutan has died in an Australian zoo aged 62, leaving behind 54 descendants, authorities said on Tuesday.

Puan, described as the “grand old lady” of Perth Zoo, was euthanised on Monday due to age-related complications, the BBC reported.

She had been at the zoo since 1968, and was officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest of her species in 2016.

A critically endangered species, Sumatran orangutans rarely reach age 50 in the wild, the zoo said.

Believed to have been born in a jungle in Sumatra, Indonesia, in 1956, Puan left an “incredible legacy” of 11 children and a total of 54 descendants across the US, Europe and elsewhere, the zoo said.

Some of Puan’s descendants have been released back into the wild in Sumatra.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are only about 14,600 Sumatran orangutans.