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Chester, a domestic cat that lives at Sequoia Park Zoo, has died.
The zoo announced the death of the cat in a heartfelt social media post yesterday.
“Chester was loved by the community and lived a long, happy life at Sequoia Park Zoo,” the zoo wrote.
Chester was adopted by the zoo in 2003 and lived on the zoo grounds for nearly two decades. In his later years, Chester served as the zoo’s unofficial greeter and was popular with visitors.
“It takes a special cat to be a visitor favorite in a zoo, especially when you’re competing with animals like red pandas and river otters,” the zoo said.
The zoo is asking the public to share their photos of Chester for a scheduled commemorative slide show. Photos can be submitted to the zoo’s Facebook page, by email to info@sequoiaparkzoo.net or as physical copies at the zoo’s ticket counter.
Read the Sequoia Park Zoo’s full statement below:
The zoo is deeply sad to announce that we said goodbye to Chester, the house cat, this week. Chester was popular with the community and lived a long, happy life at Sequoia Park Zoo. Over the years, many local parents have shared that Chester is their child’s favorite reason to visit the zoo, and often ask staff about his whereabouts as soon as they walk through the front gates. It takes a special cat to be a visitor favorite in a zoo, especially when you’re competing with animals like red pandas and river otters! Chester was always happy to make new friends and loved getting attention. No matter what happened at the zoo, Chester was always by our side, reminding us that it’s always a good time for new friends and cat naps. He is much regretted.
Chester was a few years old when he was adopted by Sequoia Park Zoo on June 26, 2003, making him over 20 years old. As a younger cat, he lived on the barnyard, where he helped telling the story of animal domestication during the day, while at night he hunted wild mice in the barn. One day, as an older cat, he discovered the couch in the zookeeper’s office and moved in straight away. Since then, Chester has posed as the unofficial zoo greeter (pictured above), greeting guests who enter the zoo every day. Chester was wearing a bird bib as he pulled away from the barnyard, both to identify him as a zoo staff and to prevent birds of prey.
Chester has been a healthy cat for most of his life. In recent years he had developed a number of health problems such as kidney disease, thyroid disease and arthritis that could be successfully treated with medication and a special diet. Over the past year, his health problems have progressed and affected his quality of life. He was humanely put to sleep on Sunday, August 29, 2021, where he died in the company of his carers. The zoo staff provided him with the highest quality and loved him very much.
The zoo would like to invite its supporters to share photos of Chester or Chester with its human fans. To celebrate his life, we will be creating a commemorative slideshow that we will share on our website and social media over the coming weeks. Photos can be shared as a comment in this thread, by private message / direct message, by email to info@sequoiaparkzoo.net or as a physical copy at the zoo’s ticket counter.
