Florida zoo creates ‘retirement homes’ to care for aging animals

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Animals at a Florida zoo are living their twilight years in style.

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According to WFTV, care teams at the Brevard Zoo in Brevard County make specialized “retirement homes” for aging animals that have reached 80% of their expected lifespan.

“As part of our preventative approach to animal care, our older animal residents receive routine quality of life assessments, specialized diets, tailored medications, enrichments and adjustments to their habitat,” the zoo wrote in a blog post Wednesday.

The zoo went on to provide a closer look at three of the homes designed with animals’ “geriatric needs in mind”:

Flounder, a small flying fox

Flounder, a small flying fox that has lived at the zoo since 2001, “has far exceeded her species’ median life expectancy,” according to the blog post.

“At 29 years old, Flounder is geriatric for her species, so she lives in a behind-the-scenes area of the zoo equipped with special enrichments to allow her to thrive at her advanced age,” the zoo captioned an Instagram post Thursday.

Some of those special features include “climbing structures to encourage her to be active, stuffed animals to keep her cozy, hideouts to give her options and a night house for daytime naps,” the zoo wrote.

Josie, a Baird’s tapir

Josie the Baird’s tapir, a Brevard Zoo resident since 1994, “lives in the deer yard and has access to open water,” according to the blog post. The 28-year-old “has access to many different areas, lots of water for swimming and opportunities to socialize with the area’s other residents if she so desires,” the zoo wrote.

Josie also can visit other Baird’s tapirs in the zoo’s Rainforest Revealed space.

“This comes as we work on introducing the two groups together in hopes they may soon be able to share a space!” the zoo wrote. “This means that in the future, Josie will be able to explore both habitats at her leisure.”

Kamots and Matilda, ring-tailed lemurs

Ring-tailed lemurs Kamots, 28, and Matilda, 15, share a small island in the zoo’s Expedition Africa section, according to the blog post.

“Kamots and Matilda are not a breeding pair, but they sure do enjoy each other’s company,” the zoo wrote. “They can often be found hanging out right beside each other! Their island has been adapted to suit their needs with lower-hanging vines and lowered night houses that they can easily access.”

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