Eulogy for an orangutan

Jantan, a Sumatran orangutan who arrived at Zoo Atlanta with his mother in 1991 and was known as J.T., died Monday evening from complications of a long illness, the zoo said. The ape was 20.

J.T. died Monday of a respiratory illness.

“The Zoo Atlanta family is deeply saddened by the loss of J.T., both as an individual and as an ambassador for a critically endangered species,” Dr. Dwight Lawson, Senior Vice President of Collections, Education and Conservation, said in a statement.

The zoo’s Animal Management and Veterinary Teams had been treating the great ape for health complications caused by a respiratory illness that began a decade ago. In 1999, J.T. began exhibiting early symptoms of chronic infection of his air sacs, ultimately leading to chronic respiratory infections, a significant cause of death in orangutans, the zoo said.

J.T. underwent years of medical therapies, including two surgeries and consultation with veterinarians across the country. Dr. David Shaz, Assistant Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Emory Crawford Long Hospital, and Dr. Allan Pickens, Thoracic Surgeon at Emory Crawford Long Medical Tower Thoracic Surgery, joined the Zoo’s Veterinary Team in attempting to resuscitate J.T. following a sudden decline on Monday.

Born April 4, 1989, at Emory University’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center, J.T. had spent the last several years in the company of his great-aunt, 39-year-old Biji, with whom he enjoyed a close personal bond, the zoo said. He is survived by one offspring, male Bernas, born July 27, 2002, at Zoo Atlanta.

A necropsy will be performed at Yerkes, the customary procedure for all animal deaths at Zoo Atlanta, regardless of  age, the zoo sad.

Zoo Atlanta has the nation’s largest zoological collection of orangutans, with nine of the primates. Native to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, Sumatran orangutans are among the Zoo’s most critically endangered primates. The species is threatened by habitat loss, predominantly because of clear-cutting of forests for palm oil production, and risks extinction within 10 years without targeted conservation efforts.

Healthy orangutans can live up to 50 years.