PHOENIX — A male mandrill named "Spock" who lived at the Phoenix Zoo for nearly 25 years has died.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the zoo said the "big monkey with a big personality" was "humanely euthanized due to chronically declining health and areas of suspected metastatic cancer that were identified on advanced imaging."
A post-mortem examination is pending, the zoo said.
Spock was born at the Phoenix Zoo in 1994, according to the post. He was cared for by many zookeepers "and his sassy behavior won them all over." The zoo said Spock was a bit of a goofball at times as he would grin at himself in the mirror. He also liked to watch the world around him and take naps on the ramp of his habitat.
"Spock was strikingly handsome, and he interacted with keepers with surprising gentleness," the zoo said. "We will greatly miss his commanding, yet quiet presence."
