Cause of death determined

The animals had botulism – a severe form of food poisoning. Mandrills Aron, Susan and Arthur probably ingested the fatal bacterium from a mallard, the remains of which keepers recovered from the mandrills’ outdoor habitat. It seems that only the lowest-ranking female Saba did not get a bite of the duck and therefore did not fall ill.

On the recommendation of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), the surviving 26-year-old female will spend her twilight years in a mandrill troop at Parc Zoologique de Fréjus in France. Because of planned construction work on the Primate House, there will be no mandrills at Zoo Berlin for a while after Saba moves out.