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‘Goofball’ chimp Nori who won hearts at North Carolina Zoo is euthanized at age 11

Charlotte Observer - 5/4/2022

An “goofball” chimpanzee that endured epilepsy and being rejected by her mother has died after 11 years at the North Carolina Zoo.

She was known as Nori to the 900,000-plus people who visit the zoo annually.

Nori was euthanized Monday, May 2, “after a period of declining health,” the zoo said in a news release.

The 2,600-acre site in Asheboro had been Nori’s home since she was born Aug. 2, 2010.

Her troubles began almost immediately.

“When Nori was born, keepers immediately noticed that her mother wasn’t showing the appropriate maternal care she needed to survive. After observing this for a few days, the animal care team decided to pull her for hand-rearing,” the zoo reported.

“Though she was successfully reunited with the other chimps at four months and enjoyed a typical life with the troop, she started showing signs of being disoriented around the age of five.“

Nori began losing her sense of balance and was suffering seizures, leading to the discovery she had epilepsy, the zoo said.

“We attempted numerous antiseizure medications through the years with varying success, and unfortunately, Nori’s seizures have never been fully controlled,” according to Dr. Jb Minter, the zoo’s director of animal health.

Nori’s uncontrolled seizures worsened in recent years, resulting in loss of consciousness and “excessive bodily injury,” officials said.

Equally traumatizing was the fact “the rest of the chimp troop recently started avoiding her,” the zoo said.

Jennifer Ireland, the zoo’s curator of mammals, helped in rearing Nori when she needed a mother.

“From the day she was born, Nori captured and held tight the hearts of all that knew her. Caring for her as an infant, watching her grow with the other chimps is the most rewarding and meaningful thing I have done in my career,” Ireland said in the release.

“Nori was a goofball and full of sass. Nori’s health challenges over the past few years have been tough on everyone.”

Fifteen chimpanzees remain in the zoo’s troop, nine females and six males, officials said.

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