New Delhi, October 2: India's oldest chimpanzee, 59-year-old named Rita died on Tuesday due to multiple organ failure. According to a Times of India report, she was not doing well from July and was on a liquid diet since the last months. She was only consuming juice, coconut water and milk with ground almonds and walnuts. It was recently that she was given pillows, blankets and even a television set to cheer her mood.

Doctors were providing her with vitamins, minerals, liver tonic and iron supplement syrup regularly, but she had stopped responding. Following the tragic news, the zoo has cancelled the inaugural function of the Wild Life Week which was supposed to take place on October 2. The tissue of her organs have been sent to IVRI for further examination and the exact cause of her death will only be known after the reports come in. Lone Cape Buffalo in Delhi Zoo Dies After Eating Plastic, Post-Mortem Reports Show Discarded Packet in Its Stomach.

Born on December 12, 1960, in Amsterdam Zoo and acquired by the Delhi zoo in 1990, Rita was the oldest chimp not only in India but also most probably in "oldest in Asia", according to the Limca Book of Records. On average, a chimpanzee has a lifespan of around 40 years and Rita was suffering due to old age ailments.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 02, 2019 12:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).