KeKe the elephant dies at the Dallas Zoo

May 13, 2008

A zoo is no place for an elephant. Please write a letter to the editor explaining that elephants are social creatures who travel miles and miles per day in the wild. Zoos simply don't have the ability to properly support an elephant's needs. -Holly

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051308dnmetzoo.f3fc916a.html)======================================================================Dallas Zoo: KeKe the elephant dies 05:28 PM CDT on Monday, May 12, 2008From Staff ReportsKeKe, a 39-year-old elephant suffering from a severe case of intestinal colic, died Monday, Dallas Zoo officials said. Zookeepers had been treating KeKe for more than 10 days and had consulted with experts around the country, the zoo said. She had been refusing to eat and had a long history of colic. Veterinarians were unable to use sonograms or radiography to assess her condition because of her massive size. Her condition had remained stable

over the past few days, but then her condition worsened this morning, the zoo said. The zoo lost two other long-term residents in the past year. Boris, the Dallas Zoo's only lion, died April 2. In September, the zoo lost Hildy, the world's oldest giraffe at the time. Boris was born at the Houston Zoo on June 13, 1990, and was moved to Dallas in 1997. The 415-pound African lion had developed multiple growths in his chest cavity that inhibited his breathing. He died while under sedation. Lions live an average of 15 years in the wild. At 17, Boris was a senior member of the zoo's Cat Row and a favorite attraction for the last 11 years. Hildy was 33. She was born at the Dallas Zoo on Oct. 9, 1973, and had lived there all her life. The 14-foot-tall, reticulated giraffe had enjoyed a lifetime of good health, though zoo officials had installed rubber mats in her barn to help with her arthritis. Hildy was

euthanized after zookeepers found her lying on the floor in her pen, and veterinarians and other officials determined that she could not stand up again. Giraffes may live up to 25 years in the wild but can live longer in zoos, where they are cared for and protected from predators. Though Hildy was not the oldest giraffe ever recorded -- another giraffe in captivity lived to be about 40 - she was the oldest in captivity at the time of her death. Hildy had six calves in her 33 years, and her 19-year-old daughter, Kibo, had been her constant companion.

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