Peaches dead at 55

[pushpills]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stor...+at+Chicago+zoo


CHICAGO (AP) -- The oldest African elephant in the United States has died at the Lincoln Park Zoo at the age of 55, officials said Tuesday.

Zoo keepers found the 9,000-pound female elephant named Peaches sprawled on the floor of an indoor enclosure early Monday. The elephant's eyes weren't focused and she was having trouble breathing, according to a statement from the zoo.

After spending several hours unsuccessfully trying to get Peaches back on her feet, veterinarians euthanized her Monday evening, zoo officials said.

The zoo said she most likely died from complications due to old age, but tests were being done to pinpoint a cause of death.

"The entire staff is saddened by the death of Peaches," zoo curator Robyn Barbiers said in a written statement. "Everyone at the zoo, particularly our dedicated team of elephant keepers, will miss her terribly."

Zoo officials said Peaches had been in reasonably good health, but because of her age they weren't surprised when they found her ailing Monday.

Peaches lived more than a decade longer than she might have been expected to live in the wild, zoo spokeswoman Kelly McGrath said. She said the median life expectancy for African elephants in the wild is thought to be around 42.

The zoo acquired Peaches and two other African elephants, Tatima and Wanki, from the San Diego Zoo in 2003 for the zoo's new Regenstein African Journey exhibit.

At the time, the animal rights group People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals criticized the transfer of the elephants from warm California, arguing that the climate in Chicago was too cold.

McGrath said then that the Lincoln Park Zoo never would have acquired the elephants if it thought there was any risk to the animals. She said Tuesday that weather played no role in Peaches' death, saying the elephant was kept in a heated building for the winter.

Tatima, who was 35, died in October, leaving only Wanki as the sole African elephant left at the zoo, McGrath said.

Officials are now considering whether to send Wanki to another zoo or to acquire new African elephants to bring to the Chicago zoo, McGrath said.

"Elephants are extremely social animals and Wanki cannot remain alone for too long," she said.


------------------------------------


Poor peaches, I remember I was at the zoo and some little brat through a stick at her cuzz she wasnt moving around much. (I think it was her....looked old and didnt have a huge elephant cock)