World's oldest fertile gorilla and orangutan turn 50

BERLIN (Reuters) - The world's oldest fertile gorilla and orangutan in captivity, Matze and Charly, jointly celebrated their 50th birthdays with a cake each at Frankfurt Zoo on Thursday.

Matze the gorilla was born in central Africa in 1957 and spent the first years of his life with a troupe of showmen before arriving in Frankfurt in 1962, the zoo said. Charly, born in northern Sumatra, has been at Frankfurt Zoo since 1978.

"Each received a cake made with pastry and mandarin with cream on top -- but with no sugar," zoo spokeswoman Caroline Liefke said.

Both are great grandfathers, Matze having fathered 17 children -- the latest in April -- while Charly has sired more than 18, with the offspring of both spread all over the world.

(Reporting by Iain Rogers; Editing by Catherine Evans)