Dublin Zoo pays tribute to beloved chimpanzee Betty

Dublin Zoo has said goodbye to Betty, our 62-year-old chimpanzee and longest-standing resident. She was the oldest living chimp in human care, but due to age-related conditions which were having a negative impact on her health, the difficult decision was made to euthanise Betty to ensure she avoided any future discomfort.

Dublin Zoo team leader Helen Clarke-Bennett first encountered Betty in the 1970s, during childhood visits to the Zoo where her father Michael Clarke looked after the chimpanzees. There is no better person to reflect on Betty’s long life at Dublin Zoo, and you can read Helen’s tribute below.

Betty, a West African chimpanzee, arrived at Dublin in 1964. The Zoo at the time still followed along the style of the early Victorian era zoos. Betty and her companions participated in the “Chimp Tea Parties”, a relic of the bygone times. My father Michael Clarke cared for her at the time and said that Betty was always strong minded and would be persistent in getting what she wanted!

Given my father’s occupation, I was a frequent visitor to Dublin Zoo as a child in the 1970’s. This was how I first came to meet Betty. A sign outside the chimpanzee habitat told me Betty and another chimpanzee, Wendy, had arrived in Dublin Zoo on May 3rd 1964, five days before I was born.

Betty and Wendy were lifelong friends, inseparable up until Wendy’s passing in 2014. While Wendy had a cheeky side, Betty was well able to keep her honest! One of my favourite images will always be that of Betty putting her arm around Wendy to encourage her to go outside with the rest of the troop, when Wendy was stubbornly refusing to leave while the habitat was cleaned.

In 2012 Dublin Zoo hosted a joint 50th birthday party in their honour. It was uplifting to see so many visitors turn up to celebrate these wonderful old ladies, and many had memories of seeing them back when they arrived in 1964. Little did I know myself that my first encounter all that time ago was just the start of a connection that would last for decades.

No other Dublin Zoo resident could so neatly encapsulate the positive changes that have happened at the Zoo over the years. The chimps were originally housed at the “pit”, a concrete enclosure with metal bars for the animals to climb on, where the Waldrapp Ibis habitat is now located. As was common in Zoos at the time, there was little to stimulate the chimps other than social and visitor interaction.

In the mid-1990s, as progress gathered pace, Betty moved with her troop to the current macaque island, where she experienced natural substrates and trees for the first time. When the African Plains were developed, the chimps moved there and were joined by chimps from Chester and Belfast Zoo. This was her first time to experience socialising within a multi-male/multi-female troop and she thrived. She was a big female and when a male had her support he could depend on her entirely.

Following Wendy’s death, we all thought Betty would perhaps follow closely behind, but she continued to flourish as the dominant female of the group. Dominant male chimpanzees hold that position only with the support of the dominant female, and that was the case for Austin, the group leader at the time. Betty also took it upon herself to protect Austin’s son Bossou after his mother Kaylie died when he was just 5 years old.

In 2014, a male chimpanzee called Marlon arrived in Dublin Zoo from Romagne in France. Marlon had grown up in a laboratory, meaning he lacked certain chimpanzee social skills, which led him to sometimes behave inappropriately towards other members of the troop. When Marlon became the dominant male in the group in late 2020, Bossou was the unfortunate recipient of Marlon’s finger-biting behaviour, which meant that some of his fingers had to be amputated.

Picture taken July 2024

Dublin Zoo is working on finding Marlon a new home where his lack of social skills won’t be as much of an issue, but this takes time, and so since 2022 Austin and Bossou have been living in a separate habitat (pictured above and below) for their own wellbeing. Formerly a gorilla habitat, this has been updated with outdoor wooden structures and shelters for the animals to use. It’s a quiet spot, up on a height and affording curious chimps a wonderful view of a large part of the Zoo.

Picture taken July 2024

Whilst technically off-show, you can catch a glimpse of this habitat and its inhabitants from the north side of the Zoo. Until Betty’s passing at the grand old age of 62, it’s possible you might even have spotted her too. This more relaxed environment was deemed a good place for Betty to live out the final years of her life, so she accompanied Austin and Bossou, who she was so close to, when they moved in 2022.

Picture taken July 2024

In recent years when I visited Betty, she could be observed wrestling and grooming with Austin and Bossou. Despite her clear affection for both of them, she still dominated all feeding times and was allowed to take the choice items because if she didn’t get her way, she would show her dissatisfaction by screeching at the other two!

Picture taken July 2024

As a senior citizen, Betty has been under the constant supervision of Dublin Zoo’s veterinary and animal care teams to manage her wellness. Recently, age-related conditions including chronic arthritis and declining kidney function were a sign that Betty’s awesome longevity was beginning to take its toll on her health. These conditions were impacting her mobility and her weight, and could not be fixed with further medical or surgical interventions. This led to the difficult decision made by Dublin Zoo’s veterinary and animal care team, in conjunction with management, to euthanise Betty.

Picture taken July 2024

While I’m incredibly sad to say goodbye to a companion I’ve had since childhood, I’m confident that euthanising Betty was the correct decision, ensuring she didn’t suffer unnecessarily and allowing her to keep her dignity to the very end. I take huge comfort in that.

There will never be another like Betty, and she will be missed dearly by everyone here in Dublin Zoo as well as the many generations of visitors who were fortunate to know her.

Helen Clarke Bennett

Dublin Zoo team leader, and a Dublin Zoo keeper since 1987.