Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon Mourns Passing of Jingles the Beloved Chimp

While most of us were eagerly awaiting the news of an official SouthCoast snow day, Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts was in mourning. Thursday afternoon, the zoo sadly announced the passing of its senior chimpanzee, Jingles.

Jingles was a senior chimpanzee in every sense of the word. At her passing, Jingles was 52 years old, a full decade older than most chimps live to see. She had spent about half of that lifetime around the zookeepers and staff at Southwick's Zoo.

So naturally, it is no surprise that her passing has hit the zoo very hard.

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Zoo staff took to Facebook to share their thoughts of the one-of-a-kind Jingles and a very special slideshow of all the good times Jingles had at Southwick's over the years.

Many of the photos shared were from Jingles' big 50th birthday party, which the zoo threw back in 2019. You can also see quite a few pics of Jingles wearing t-shirts, which the staff said she loved. Jingles was the only chimp at Southwick's who could properly put on a t-shirt or sweatshirt and the zoo staff said she loved rocking them whenever she could.

It is clear from the Facebook posts by Southwick's Zoo that Jingles' passing is going to take a toll. The chimpanzee troop with Terry, Tabitha, or Tanzie are probably feeling the loss as well.

Perhaps it is a good thing that Southwick's Zoo is currently closed for the season and won't reopen for visitors until April. Hopefully, it will give everyone, both human and chimpanzee alike, enough time to deal with Jingles' death. Our condolences to the entire Southwick's Zoo family.