Zoo Miami's oldest primate, an endangered Lar gibbon named Prisilla, has died.
According to a statement issued, by the zoo June 5, the "very difficult decision" was made to euthanize the nearly 50-year-old Prisilla after she was diagnosed with an unspecified non-treatable condition that robbed her of her quality of life.
Everyday zoo-goers will remember Prisilla as a long-armed, small-faced monkey-like creature with light-colored fur who would climb trees and swing seemingly effortlessly from branch to branch.
"Along with neighbors, the siamangs (another species of gibbons whose fur is black), Prisilla was a crowd favorite as she was seen swinging through her habitat and heard emitting her high pitched calls as part of a daily morning ritual," zoo spokesman Ron Magill said in a news release announcing the death.
Prisilla arrived at what's now known as Zoo Miami back in May of 1981. Born in the wild, she became the longtime mate of another Lar gibbon named "Fang." In her years at the zoo she gave birth to eight offspring "that have gone on to start their own families at other facilities," Magill said in the statement.
Her age was estimated to be over 48 years. She was Zoo Miami's oldest primate and the third oldest Lar gibbon in North America.
Lar gibbons, also known as white-handed gibbons, are native to the forests of Southeast Asia. They eat fruits, leaves, flowers, insects and sometimes bird eggs, and spend most of their time in the tree canopy, Zoo Miami said.
The zoological term primate refers to the order of mammals that includes humans, gorillas, apes, gibbons, and monkeys, among other species.
