Blackpool Zoo's orangutan star is 32-years-old

Vicky the Bornean orangutan, who is known among zoo regulars for her distinctive toothy smile, turned an impressive 32-years-old yesterday.

She now qualifies as an official member of the ‘golden generation’, as most orangutans are expected to live between 35 and 40 years.

Vicky stands proud as the alpha member of the zoo’s Orangutan Outlook, where she lives with her two daughters Cherie and Summer, and 17-year-old Ramon, who came to Blackpool in 2003 at the age of four after being abandoned by his mother in Leningrad Zoo in St Petersburg, Russia.

The elderly ape underwent an incredibly rare double operation to alleviate severe congestion in her airways in May last year. The operation was the first of its kind in UK history.

To celebrate Vicky’s birthday, staff at Blackpool Zoo, on East Park Drive, prepared a special birthday ‘cake’ in her honour, made up of leaves, berries, fruits and vegetables.

A Blackpool Zoo spokesman posted on social media: “Happy birthday Vicky - you might be 32 today, but you don’t look a day over 21!”