Zoo officials said decision was made to 'compassionately euthanize her' after her health declined; she had lived at the zoo since 1977
A 45-year-old Asian elephant named Devi who had lived at the San Diego Zoo since 1977 was euthanized on Thursday after zoo officials said her health had declined.
The elephant had received hydrotherapy, physical therapy and stem cell therapy to alleviate age-related ailments but her mobility continued to decline, officials said.“After monitoring her closely and evaluating quality of life, Devi’s health and care specialists made the difficult decision to compassionately euthanize her,” the zoo said in a statement.Devi came to the San Diego Zoo from an elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka and was raised in the former Children’s Zoo.
Elephants are considered highly social animals with extremely complex behaviors, and can show empathy, engage in problem solving and communicate with each other. After the incident, Liz was moved to Marine World Africa USA in Vallejo in 1994 because keepers feared she might seriously injure Devi or other elephants. A keeper at the time described Liz, then 30, as having a personality like a “neighborhood bully who would steal your lunch money” and said she didn’t know how to properly assert her authority toward other elephants after moving into the role of matriarch. Liz did not show any aggression toward animal care staff, officials said.
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