Posted December 4, 2020 in News
Goodnight Tekita
It is with great sadness that we report the sad passing of Tekita the Chimpanzee, at the age of 24yrs, on Tuesday 1st December 2020.
Tekita was born here at Colchester Zoo in February 1996 to mum Tara who is still with us at the zoo today.
Unfortunately, Tekita had been unwell and under veterinary care for the past few weeks. Despite receiving medication Tekita was not showing any signs of improvement and underwent a diagnostic health check to try and determine another form of treatment that perhaps would help her. Exploratory surgery was completed and it became apparent that there would be no further treatment available to help Tekita therefore the kindest but hardest decision was made to put Tekita to sleep to prevent any suffering going forward. Our veterinary team will be completing a full post mortem to determine the exact cause of death over the next few days.
Tekita leaves behind a great legacy as she was mother to both Tumba and Talia, the youngest chimpanzees within the group. Not only will her chimpanzee family miss Tekita but all the staff and visitors who grew to know Tekita over the years will also miss this large character at Chimpanzee Lookout.
Katherine from our Primate Team spoke of this sad loss, “Tekita was sensitive and sweet, trusting of her keepers and enjoyed building relationships with them. Tekita was always fiercely protective of her children and an integral part of the heart of the chimpanzee family, her loving, calm and collective nature will be sorely missed by her family and her keepers alike.”
