Chinta (CHEEN-tuh), a female orangutan at Woodland Park Zoo, passed away peacefully Tuesday morning, one day shy of her 52nd birthday. She was the oldest animal currently living at Woodland Park Zoo and one of the oldest orangutans in North America.
Chinta was the last remaining animal born at Woodland Park Zoo in the 1960s who had lived at the zoo her entire lifetime. Chinta and her late twin brother Towan (toe-WAHN) were born in February 1968 at Woodland Park Zoo. Towan passed away in 2016.
Worldwide, Chinta and Towan gained instant celebrity status as the first-known twin orangutans born in a zoo. Photos of the pair as infants appeared around the globe, including in “Life” magazine. While other twins have since been born, twin orangutan births are still a rare occurrence.
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