42-year-old female orangutan Knobi dies at Indianapolis Zoo

INDIANAPOLIS — Knobi, a 42-year-old female orangutan at the Indianapolis Zoo died Thursday.

In a Facebook post, the zoo said Knobi started to decline this week and the animal care team made her comfortable.

"Knobi was a remarkable and wonderful individual, having been a surrogate mom to both Rocky and Max," the post read. "As a young adolescent, Max has become more independent and already spends time on his own. He has a very strong relationship with adult male orangutan Azy."

According to the zoo, Knobi had been at the zoo for 12 years. The zoo has five male and five female remaining orangutans.

Knobi lived a pretty long life, for an orangutan. According to the Orangutan Conservancy, an orangutan’s lifespan is about 35-40 years in the wild, and sometimes can live into their late 50s in captivity.

WRTV Senior Digital Content Manager Lydia Williams and Senior News Producer Judy Carbone contributed to this report.