Karen’s Heart
A rough start in life
Karen, a baby Sumatran orangutan at the San Diego Zoo, was born but wasn't as active as baby apes usually are. Wildlife care specialists saw that she was acting differently, so they had Zoo veterinarians examine Karen.
To the hospital
It turns out that Karen was born with a defect to her heart, and it was the same type of problem that human babies can have. So Karen went to the Zoo hospital, and doctors—including a surgeon for humans—performed open-heart surgery to fix her problem. Karen was very brave!
A happy homecoming
Once Karen was strong enough, she was able to rejoin her family and grow into a strong adult orangutan. Her story was so special there was a book written about it called Karen's Heart: The True Story of a Brave Baby Orangutan, part of our Hope & Inspiration series. Now in her 30s, Karen is thriving at the Zoo.
