Busch Gardens’ oldest chimpanzee, Patsy, will be turning 53 years old on March 1 and the animal care team is celebrating Mardi Gras-style! The celebration will begin at 1 p.m. at Myombe Reserve with presents, “cake” and other enrichment activities, including masks and fleur de les stuffed with treats. Plus, a birthday party isn’t complete without a birthday banner!
Patsy has been at Busch Gardens since 1964. She is the fourth oldest female chimpanzee in North America. In managed care, chimps can live into their 60s and 70s! The picture below is from her 50th birthday party.
Due to habitat loss and poaching, there are only four subspecies of chimpanzee left in the wild today. Busch Gardens is proud of its long-standing relationship with the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center at Emory University, the site of some of the most well-respected primate research programs in the world.
Busch Gardens has partnered with the Yerkes Center on several primate conservation research programs including the Tana River Primate Research Center in Southeast Kenya and in-park behavioral research.
The SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund also supports the New Nature Foundation’s Kibale Fuel Wood Project and Kibale Eco-Char Initiative. Their project basically promotes eco-char or eco-briquettes, which are an environmental alternative for cooking instead of getting firewood from the park. The briquettes are made from various recyclable materials, including avocado pits, peanut shells, saw dust, or vegetable peels. In the past, the local communities have gone into the forest to cut down wood for cooking, thus leading to habitat loss for the animals in the park, including chimps.
Be sure to stop by Myombe Reserve and celebrate with us! Plus, we are always celebrating animal birthdays. Celebrate throughout the year with us with a Busch Gardens Fun Card! For a limited time, you’ll also get a FREE Adventure Island Fun Card.
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