NEW YORK – The Bronx Zoo mourns the loss of Happy, an elephant who not only broadened our understanding of elephant behavior but also became a pivotal figure in a significant animal rights case. At 55, Happy was euthanized, as announced by the zoo on Wednesday.
Having resided at the zoo for nearly 50 years, the Asian elephant was euthanized on Tuesday due to rapidly progressing age-related health issues. Recently, she exhibited signs of declining kidney or liver function. A post-mortem examination disclosed the presence of arthritis and large, untreatable uterine tumors, which are undetectable in elephants through standard medical procedures, according to zoo officials.
“She was an extraordinary elephant,” shared interim zoo director Craig Piper in a Wednesday interview, as staff came to terms with the loss of an animal many cared for over three decades. “Happy was a remarkable ambassador for elephants and their conservation efforts.”
Following Happy’s passing, Patty, aged 57, remains the sole elephant on display in the nation’s largest city. Two decades ago, the Wildlife Conservation Society, which oversees the zoo, decided to cease acquiring new elephants.
Happy’s journey began in the wilds of Asia before she was brought to the United States as a young calf at just one year old. Named after a character from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” she became a cherished member of the zoo community upon her arrival in 1977.
Happy keenly engaged with her keepers and was easy to motivate with favorite treats, such as watermelon or strawberries, said Keith Lovett, the zoo’s director of animal programs. Piper said she sometimes stashed treats in her ear to save for later.
In 2005, she showed researchers that elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror — a sign of self-awareness seen in only a few other species. During the experiment, Happy faced her reflection and repeatedly used her trunk to touch an “X” painted above her eye, a mark she could see only in the mirror.
She was paired with other elephants until her last partner died in 2006. Happy then lived separately from Patty and a third elephant out of concern that they wouldn’t get along, though Lovett said the animals could see, smell and touch each other over a divider. The third elephant, called Maxine, died in 2018.
Zoo officials said the median life expectancy for Asian elephants in U.S. zoos is about 45 years. Their life expectancy in the wild is more difficult to pinpoint.
During Happy’s lifetime, zoo elephant exhibits came under increased scrutiny. Some experts said urban animal parks were too small for creatures that roam extensive distances in the wild. Animal rights activists argued that zoo enclosures were no place for big-brained, social pachyderms.
Some zoos phased out their exhibits and sent elephants to sanctuaries, though some other zoos remain committed to keeping and breeding the creatures, arguing that they help keep people interested in saving wildlife.
One activist group, the Nonhuman Rights Project, sued the Bronx Zoo in 2018, seeking to have Happy declared a “person” for legal purposes and moved to a large animal sanctuary. It was the first such case about an elephant, according to the group.
Citing a principle that’s used to challenge the legality of a person’s imprisonment, the activist group said Happy was “an extraordinarily cognitively complex and autonomous nonhuman being” who was unlawfully deprived of her liberty and suffered from being pent up in a exhibit without other elephants.
Zoo officials said Happy was assiduously cared for and had space for swimming, foraging and other natural behavior. Uprooting her from her longtime home could harm her, the zoo said.
New York’s top court ultimately rejected the activists’ claim, by a 5-2 majority. Colorado’s highest court later issued a similar ruling about five elephants in a zoo there.
Still, two of the New York high court judges wrote pointed dissents. One called Happy’s captivity “inherently unjust and inhumane” and “an affront to a civilized society.”
The Nonhuman Rights Project has continued pursuing cases about elephants in various other states.
Happy spent her final weeks, by her choice, in an off-exhibit barn and yard within her enclosure, Piper said. In a zoo version of hospice care, staffers provided hydration, nutrition and pain management, he said.
Meanwhile, Patty is doing well, the zoo said.
The Wildlife Conservation Society said in 2006 that once there was only one elephant, the animal might be moved to another zoo if circumstances were right. Piper said the zoo will be “really thoughtful and careful” in contemplating whether to move Patty from her home of 53 years.
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