ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Spiderman, one of the oldest known black-handed spider monkeys in captivity, has died at the Seneca Park Zoo of cancer.
He was 43 years old, nearly doubling in years the life expectancy of spider monkeys, which average 25 years.
He leaves behind his companion, Lucy, a 40-year-plus female who lived with Spiderman at the zoo since 2005. Zoo officials say Lucy is in good health and continues to beat the odds.
"She's doing very well right now. She does know that he's gone; they're social animals, so she knows that he's gone, but the keepers are going to be paying extra attention to her, interacting with her," said Larry Sorel, zoo director. "We're looking at our options in the future. Do we send her somewhere else for another companion? Do we bring a companion in? It's all complicated by the fact that she's over 40 also."
While Spiderman was the father of nine offspring, who have gone on to keep the lineage going at other zoos, he and Lucy did not have any children together.