NEW YORK (AP) — Happy, the beloved elephant from the Bronx Zoo who contributed significantly to scientific understanding of elephant behavior and was central to a high-profile animal rights case, has been euthanized at the age of 55, the zoo announced on Wednesday.
The Asian elephant, who had called the Bronx Zoo home for nearly 50 years, was euthanized on Tuesday. Zoo officials revealed that Happy’s health had declined due to age-related issues that worsened in recent weeks, along with indications of deteriorating kidney or liver function. A necropsy later uncovered that Happy had been suffering from arthritis and large, inoperable uterine tumors, conditions that are notoriously difficult to detect in elephants through standard examinations or imaging techniques, according to the zoo.
“She was a magnificent elephant,” expressed Craig Piper, the interim director of the zoo, during an interview on Wednesday. The staff, many of whom had cared for Happy for over three decades, were deeply saddened by her passing. “Happy was a remarkable ambassador for both elephants and conservation efforts worldwide.”
Following Happy’s passing, Patty, a 57-year-old elephant, remains the sole pachyderm on display in New York City, the largest city in the United States. Two decades ago, the zoo’s governing body, the Wildlife Conservation Society, made the decision to cease acquiring new elephants.
Happy’s journey began in the wilds of Asia before she was brought to the United States at just one year old. She was named after a character from the classic tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and arrived at the Bronx Zoo 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.