Karen (born 11 June 1992), is a Sumatran orangutan (''Pongo abelii''), who on 27 August 1994 at

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

was the first orangutan to have

open heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to c ...

and in 2021 was among the first non-humans to receive a

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Concerns for the endangered species of Sumatran orangutan at a time when routine open heart surgery was being performed in human babies, combined with a collaboration between San Diego Zoo and the

UC San Diego Health UC San Diego Health is the academic health system of the University of California, San Diego in San Diego, California. It is the only academic health system serving San Diego and has one of only two adult Level I trauma centers in the region. In ...

, led to the planning of repairing the large hole in the heart in two-year-old Karen. The operation and after-care required the co-operation of more than 100 volunteers and the resulting procedure was successful and widely publicised. Karen became a favorite with zoo visitors, surviving more than 25 years. Karen is the subject of a book by Georgeanne Irvine titled ''Karen’s Heart: The True Story of a Brave Baby Orangutan'', published by Blue Sneaker Press in 2018.

Background

Wild Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered. In the 1970s,

(UCSD) pathologist Kurt Benirschke, persuaded zoo trustees to establish a research department, at the zoo's Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species, which he subsequently led, providing the collaboration between the University and the zoo. Orangutan and human hearts have much similarity, and open heart surgery had become routine in human babies.

Early life and family

Karen, also known as "Kare-Bear", a Sumatran orangutan, was born at San Diego Zoo on 11 June 1992 to nine-year-old mother Karta and father Otis. After 1995, Karta lost six infants over the course of 15 years. Observations eventually led to the discovery of Karta's difficulties in breastfeeding due to her small nipples. Her babies were either

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...

or could not latch on and therefore failed to thrive. The

zookeepers A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

observed that Karen was not being nursed in the first few days of life and she was therefore removed from Karta. On reintroducing her back to Karta, no change was seen and Karen was removed again to be handraised. Karta was subsequently sent to

Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo (after Melbourne Zoo), and it is operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is administered by the Royal Zoologic ...

in November 1992 and Karen was adopted by orangutan Josephine. Karen was found to have a

heart murmur Heart murmurs are unique heart sounds produced when blood flows across a heart valve or blood vessel. This occurs when turbulent blood flow creates a sound loud enough to hear with a stethoscope. Turbulent blood flow is not smooth. The sound di ...

at a health check-up at the age of two, after it was noted that she was not growing at the appropriate speed. Tests then confirmed a penny-size hole in the heart. At the time, Karen weighed and her condition was considered fatal without surgical correction.

Heart surgery

A surgical team led by cardiothoracic surgeon Stuart W. Jamieson from UCSD repaired the defect by opening Karen's chest and heart and stitching the hole to close it. Despite some structural variation between Karen's chest wall and that of a human, once inside the chest cavity, the surgeons felt familiar with the heart surgery. The whole procedure required the co-operation of a number of surgeons, nurses,

anaesthetists Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

medical technician A medical laboratory scientist (MLS) or clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) or medical technologist (MT) performs diagnostic testing of blood and body fluids in clinical laboratories. The scope of a medical laboratory scientist's work begins wit ...

veterinarians A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

and animal keepers and lasted seven hours. Jamieson reported that "If Karen were human, I'd tell her parents that everything went fine, and her prognosis is excellent". She became the first

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...

to have open heart surgery. Following the operation, Karen required carefully co-ordinated care, which involved more than 100 volunteers. Although she suffered a lung complication, it was managed successfully and she survived to make headlines, receiving get-well cards from all over the world.

Life after surgery

Karen subsequently became a favorite with zoo visitors. She has been described as "stubborn and willful, just like her mum", and is said to have a signature move, where she rolls rather than walks. Although not usually housed together, Karen, like some other orangutans is found to get along well with

siamang The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching in height, a ...

gibbons. A book about Karen was published in 2018, titled ''Karen’s Heart: The True Story of a Brave Baby Orangutan''.

Covid-19 vaccination

Karen was one of the first non-humans to receive a

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

References

External links

Karen the Orangutan celebrates her "sweet 16"We Heart Karen - Karen the Orangutan Undergoes Heart Surgery
San Diego Zoo (2019)
“ZOONOOZ”
San Diego Zoo Global (January 2019) {{Notable apes Individual orangutans Individual animals in the United States 1992 animal births History of veterinary medicine San Diego Zoo History of heart surgery 1994 in medicine