Houston Zoo's lost a good dad and an accomplished painter.

Doc — a 27-year-old orangutan who was known as a doting dad — was euthanized at the Houston Zoo Tuesday afternoon. Doc suffered from cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscles) and after his condition deteriorated over several months (despite doses of the same medications that human adults would receive for the heart disease and consultation with the director of Echocardiography at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in an attempt to help Doc) and life became more and more painful for him, the decision was made to euthanize.

While Doc's lived at the Houston Zoo since he was 3, he might be most remembered for the loving relationship he had with 8-year-old son Solaris. Unlike most orangutan males, Doc played closely with his son throughout his life.

In the wild, adult male orangutans typically have little to do with their offspring after the birth.

"Those lucky enough to see it were treated to a sight unknown in the wild — a full grown male orangutan play wrestling with his son,” Houston Zoo assistant curator of primates Lynn Killam said in a statement. “They would play for hours, and after a rest Solaris would gingerly pull on Doc’s hair and the game would begin again."

Doc also spent hours painting artworks that were displayed in zoo exhibits that raised funds for orangutan conservation. Doc's large hands (even for an orangutan) made him an especially adept painter.

“Doc was quite contemplative when working on the canvas, using light small strokes with plant leaves that showed his intelligent and gentle nature,” Killam said.

Orangutans have an average lifespan of 35 to 40 years in the wild and in captivity, they can live more than 50 years.

Besides Solaris, Doc has a 5-month-old daughter Aurora. Doc had both of his children with the Houston Zoo's orangutan Kelly. He was brought to the Houston Zoo to be Kelly's companion in 1987. Doc was born in the Dallas Zoo.

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