Farewell to Sentai: Shanghai Zoo's beloved 45-year-old orangutan dies
Based on the expression in his eyes, it appears that Sentai has locked eyes with a beautiful female tourist at Shanghai Zoo in this file photo.
The 45-year-old orangutan, Sentai, an old friend of the Shanghainese, has died.
Sentai, the male orangutan at Shanghai Zoo, passed away last month but his death was announced on Monday afternoon. A veterinarian's autopsy revealed that the cause of death was multiple organ failure.
According to the National Zoo's orangutan pedigree, Sentai was the oldest orangutan in a domestic zoo, equivalent to 90 years in human age.
Born in 1978, Sentai was a red-brown Bornean orangutan and Sumatran orangutan hybrid. He came to Shanghai Zoo in June 1985 and has been there longer than many of the zoo's staff.
The once strong and handsome Sentai.
In the eyes of the zoo keepers, Sentai was a very intelligent orangutan who liked to interact with them as well as visitors and preferred to gaze at beautiful tourists.
"Every time we wanted to take him back to his enclosure, if he hadn't come in for half a day, there had to be beautiful tourists outside interacting with him, and he wouldn't go back if the tourists didn't leave," a zoo veteran recalled.
Additionally, Sentai had a preference for female keepers. "When a male keeper couldn't persuade him, Sentai would only be persuaded by a female keeper provided she called him gently, Then Sentai would become very happy and rush to greet her," he added.
After suffering from diabetes, Sentai's lower limb mobility was restricted.
Staff member Zhu Yingdi recalled that Sentai was nostalgic but also held grudges. For instance, every time the keepers had trouble calling him back, he would obediently return home only if Ling Long Yao, the supervisor who had been taking care of him since childhood, called.
Another example involves a keeper surnamed Yang, who took care of chimpanzees. Every time Yang passed by with food, Sentai held a grudge, thinking that Yang was trying to steal his food. When he saw Yang, he would "pupupu" spit. Even after Yang retired, Sentai never forgave him.
Unfortunately, Sentai was a hybrid, and for scientific reasons related to population management, he couldn't participate in breeding.
However, despite not having a mate or children, he had a group of loving keepers to care for him and keep him company.
Sentai always cooperated well with veterinarians in his diabetes treatment.
In 2001, when Sentai developed diabetes, veterinarians and keepers developed a comprehensive treatment plan for him. But as he grew older, complications from diabetes worsened.
Starting in the early summer, Sentai experienced several episodes of loss of appetite, and veterinarians added oral enteral nutrition to his diet.
In the last week of September, Sentai grew weaker, and his responses changed from a loud "hum" to a hesitant murmur. Despite the efforts of staff to treat and care for him, he still couldn't regain his appetite and vitality.
At 1:25pm on September 29, Sentai bid farewell to the world.
After the news of Sentai's passing away was announced, many local residents left messages on the official WeChat account of Shanghai Zoo to express their nostalgia and sadness.
One netizen said, "Another childhood friend has left us."
"Rest in peace, Sentai." A netizen left the comment under the news of the orangutan passing away.
