The longest-standing resident at Dublin Zoo, and the oldest living chimp in human care, has died.
The zoo revealed that it had "said goodbye to Betty, our 62-year-old chimpanzee".
The "difficult decision" to euthanise Betty was taken "to ensure she avoided any future discomfort" which was being caused by age-related conditions.
These "were having a negative impact on her health".
Betty had taken up residence at the zoo six decades ago, in 1964.
Seán Lemass was taoiseach at the time. Lyndon B Johnson was in the White House.
Watch: Tea With The Chimps At Dublin Zoo in 1965
At that time, "Betty and her companions had participated in the 'Chimp Tea Parties', a relic of the bygone times", Dublin Zoo team leader Helen Clarke-Bennett recounted.
She had first encountered Betty in the 1970s during childhood visits, when her father Michael Clarke had looked after the chimpanzees.
Ms Clarke Bennett said that Betty "was always strong minded and would be persistent in getting what she wanted!"
Betty and another chimpanzee, Wendy, had arrived in Dublin Zoo together on 3 May 1964.
"They were lifelong friends, inseparable up until Wendy’s passing in 2014," Ms Clarke Bennett said.
"One of my favourite images will always be that of Betty putting her arm around Wendy to encourage her to go outside with the rest of the troop, when Wendy was stubbornly refusing to leave while the habitat was cleaned."
Ms Clarke Bennett has been a keeper at Dublin Zoo since 1987.
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