Chimp loses fight against cancer
A well-known chimpanzee from Jane Goodall Institute Chimp Eden had to be euthanised due to cancer at the Casterbridge Animal Hospital in White River, Mpumalanga.
Veterinary surgeons at the hospital initially thought the chimp, known as Nikki, had only been battling an infection and were hopeful that they would be able to treat it. They later discovered he had acute lymphoma cancer, Lowvelder reported.
His entire abdomen was covered with tumours, and the surgeons had to take the inevitable decision to put him down. Nikki made headlines in 2012 when he and fellow primate Amadeus attacked and mutilated Andrew Oberle, an anthropology graduate from America, in one of the enclosures at Chimp Eden.
Nikki was shot during the incident, and it was thought he had been battling an infection in the wound he had sustained. He had a high fever and lost weight rapidly, which spurred his caregivers at Chimp Eden to approach the veterinary clinic for help. Dr Graeme Harman and Dr Daniela Späth agreed to assist with finding out what was wrong with Nikki.
“The blood test shows that Nikki has a high concentration of white blood cells, indicating that he is battling an acute and serious infection,” Späth said.
Some of the Chimp Eden personnel who accompanied Nikki for treatment said although a lot of shrapnel was removed from the chimp after it had been shot, the infection might have been related to the wound it had sustained.
During Nikki’s surgery, as Dr Graeme Harman opened up the primate, it was discovered the chimp actually had cancer.
He was put down on the operating table. Harman added Nikki would have died within three weeks.
– Caxton News Service
Read original story on lowvelder.co.za
