‘Dearly missed’: Chimpanzee Teetoo, a fixture of Kansas City Zoo since 2003, dies
A 26-year-old chimpanzee named Teetoo, cared for at the Kansas City Zoo, died unexpectedly on Thursday.
Kimberly D. Romary, the zoo’s marketing director, made the announcement in a Friday afternoon news release. Teetoo had recently undergone “a routine medical procedure and was in recovery” when she died, Romary said.
An examination of the animal showed there was blockage of a main artery to the brain that caused the death.
Teetoo was brought to the Kansas City Zoo in 2003. She was known as an intelligent animal and magnificent mother to another chimpanzee, Gracie, born there in 2018.
“Her animal care specialists will fondly remember her little huffs to get attention for treats,” Romary said. “Teetoo will be dearly missed by all her Zoo family.”
The death of the chimpanzee comes nearly three weeks after the Kansas City Zoo announced another death of an animal that long resided there.
Curtis, a gorilla, was euthanized on Oct. 1 following two years of medical challenges, the zoo said in a statement. He was 28.
