Adelaide Zoo orangutan sick with gallstones, fixed by SAMHRI

They’re not monkeying around. When Adelaide Zoo’s grand old lady orangutan was feeling under the weather, the state’s best doctors and vets swung into action.

When 46-year-old Sumatran orangutan Puspa appeared under the weather, some of the state’s best doctors and veterinarians swung into action to find out what was making her feel ill.

After CT scans and a number of tests last May, medical specialists found that the Adelaide Zoo resident had gallstones and required surgery.

The procedure was performed last month at SAHMRI’s Preclinical, Imaging and Research Laboratories in Gilles Plains.

Zoos SA announced Puspa’s recovery on Tuesday.

“Initially, we thought that Puspa might have been suffering from a reproductive tract problem, but couldn’t be sure without anaesthetising her to investigate further,” Zoos SA veterinarian David McLelland says. “The CT scan revealed a number of gallstones, along with inflammation of the bile duct and gallbladder, but no reproductive tract abnormalities.

“The surgeons removed nine sizeable gallstones along with a very unhappy looking gallbladder. You have to think Puspa will feel better to be relieved of all that.”

Sumatran orangutan Puspa, 46, recovering after gall bladder surgery. Picture: Adrian Mann/ZoosSA

Dr McLelland says Puspa has been climbing, moving and eating well since her operation.

SA Liver Transplant Unit director Dr John Chen and Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Dr Eu Ling Neo volunteered their time for Puspa’s surgery.

Puspa was born at Perth Zoo in 1975. She lived at Adelaide Zoo from 1978-81 and then returned permanently in 2011.

The operation on 46 year-old Sumatran orangutan Puspa. Picture: ZoosSA

X-ray showing Puspa’s gallstones. Picture: ZoosSA