World's oldest orangutan dies
{{date|December 31, 2007}}
[[Image:Nonja Orangutan.jpg|right|thumb|Nonja in 2006. {{image credit|1=[http://flickr.com/people/scottobear/ Scotto Bear]}}]]
A 55-year-old [[w:orangutan|orangutan]] named [[w:Nonja|Nonja]], who was believed to be the oldest living orangutan in the world both in captivity and the wild, has died at the [[w:Miami MetroZoo|Miami MetroZoo]] in [[w:Miami, Florida|Miami]], [[Florida]].

"Everybody's very sad, especially with an animal like an orangutan. You see a lot of yourself in these animals. The great apes are our closest relatives. She was really a grand old dame," said zoo spokesman Ron Magill.

Nonja, which means 'girl' in Dutch, was born in 1952 in [[Indonesia]] on the island of [[w:Sumatra|Sumatra]]. She arrived at the Miami MetroZoo in 1983. Her death is believed to have been caused by a small brain tumor or [[w:aneurysm|aneurysm]] which ruptured.

According to the zoo, an orangutan normally only lives about 40-50 years. Orangutans are part of an endangered species and in 2003, only about 7,300 were believed to be left living in the wild.

{{haveyoursay}}
== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-31179920071231
|title=World's oldest Sumatran orangutan dies in Miami
|author=
|pub=Reuters
|date=December 31, 2007}}
*{{source|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gjuJpJl5SJqqgNjzpuA1bRYkdsSwD8TRMLUO0
|title=55-Year-Old Orangutan Dies in Miami Zoo
|author=
|pub=Associated Press
|date=December 30, 2007}}

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[[Category:Obituaries]]
[[Category:World records]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Florida]]
[[Category:Species endangerment]]
[[Category:Miami, Florida]]
[[Category:Orangutans]]

[[fr:La doyenne supposée des orang-outans meurt à l'âge de 55 ans]]
Nonja in 2006. 
A 55-year-old orangutan named Nonja, who was believed to be the oldest living orangutan in the world both in captivity and the wild, has died at the Miami MetroZoo in Miami, Florida.

"Everybody's very sad, especially with an animal like an orangutan. You see a lot of yourself in these animals. The great apes are our closest relatives. She was really a grand old dame," said zoo spokesman Ron Magill.

Nonja, which means 'girl' in Dutch, was born in 1952 in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. She arrived at the Miami MetroZoo in 1983. Her death is believed to have been caused by a small brain tumor or aneurysm which ruptured.

According to the zoo, an orangutan normally only lives about 40-50 years. Orangutans are part of an endangered species and in 2003, only about 7,300 were believed to be left living in the wild.
Obituaries World records United States Florida Species endangerment Miami, Florida Orangutans