Mama, an African elephant at the Dallas Zoo since 2010, has died.
She died Wednesday due to age-related health conditions, the zoo announced.
She was 45 and the oldest of the zoo’s five-member geriatric female herd, dubbed the “Golden Girls.” Mama was one of the 10 oldest elephants in the country, the zoo says.
“After Mama died, the other elephants in the herd, Gypsy, Jenny, Congo and Kamba, were given time to say goodbye, during which they gently touched her face with their trunks and trumpeted softly,” the zoo says.
The zoo said in a statement:
She had been undergoing dedicated geriatric health care for many months, including massage, baths, blood tests, medication and heat-lamp treatments. In recent weeks, Mama’s health had declined, and her care evolved to hospice-style efforts designed to keep her comfortable. … “We take our responsibility to care for these magnificent animals very seriously, and we’re heartened that her final years were spent in a social herd in which we saw positive, normal elephant behavior,” Lynn Kramer, the zoo’s vice president of animal operations, said in a statement.
The zoo reports Mama loved being groomed and adored her pedicures.
Video: Dallas Zoo remembers Mama
