Officials at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo this week put down Kimba, a 48-year-old African elephant that had lived at the Colorado Springs facility since 1981.
The zoo said in a press release Tuesday that Kimba had exhibited health problems in recent years but had always “bounced back.” That was not the case with her most recent travails, and the elephant’s care team “made the emotionally difficult and compassionate decision to humanely euthanize her.”
At nearly 49 years old, Kimba was considered old for her species and was the second-oldest member of the zoo’s herd of female African elephants.
Kimba came to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo at age 3 with her “bestie” — a now-46-year-old elephant named Lucky, who still lives at the zoo. The 11,000-pound Kimba played a major role in developing the zoo’s elephant care program, zoo officials said in the release.
Kimba was described as a dominant elephant, often approaching food or training opportunities ahead of Lucky, her longtime herd mate. She also regularly reminded other animals of her massive presence if they ventured too close to her yard, tossing sand at wild deer or pigeons as a warning.
Kimba spent her final full day of life on Sunday doing her favorite things, the zoo reported. She and Lucky spent hours together in the vacation yard, soaking up the sunshine and grazing on grass.
Kimba’s death follows that of Amani, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s oldest reticulated giraffe, at 26 earlier this month.
Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance also lost two pachyderms this year. Twelve-year-old Rupert died earlier this month after arriving at the Denver Zoo in May from a zoo in San Diego. Black rhino Rudisha, a Denver Zoo resident for a decade, was put down in May after the 32-year-old animal’s health conditions worsened.
