72-year-old elephant gifted to US by India euthanised at Washington zoo

Washington The Smithsonians National Zoo community is mourning the loss of Ambika the beloved eldest member of its Asian elephant herd The 72yearold was humanely euthanized on Friday following a recent and irreversible decline in her healthBorn in India around 1948 Ambika was the third oldest Asian elephant in the North American population At 8 the female elephant was captured in the Coorg forest where she worked as a logging elephant until 1961 Ambika was then given to the Zoo as a gift from the children of IndiaRIP Ambika a loving gift from India Elderly Asian Elephant Ambika Dies at Smithsonians National Zoo tweeted Indian Ambassador to US Taranjit Singh SandhuLast week keepers noticed that Ambikas rightfront leg which bore the brunt of her weight developed a curve that weakened her ability to stand Though she had some good days and some bad days the staff grew concerned when she chose not to explore her habitat as much as she normally would or engage with her keepers or elephant companions Shanthi and BozieIn discussing Ambikas overall quality of life the elephant and veterinary team strongly considered Ambikas gait bloodwork parameters radiographs progressions of her lesions and her tendency to occasionally isolate from Shanthi and BozieGiven her extremely old age decline physically and socially and poor longterm prognosis they felt they had exhausted all treatment options and made the decision to humanely euthanize herAmbikas euthanasia took place in the Elephant Barn Shanthi and Bozie were not present for the procedure but were given an opportunity to spend some time with their deceased herd mate given their close bond with herMany scientists believe that the process of exploring the body of the deceased elephant is a recognition of death and is likely part of a grieving process Elephants will commonly touch the temporal glands ear canal mouth and trunk tipOften they will make a rumble vocalization while inspecting the body For approximately 15 to 20 minutes Shanthi and Bozie walked around Ambika They sniffed and touched her with their trunks Although the pair usually communicate with squeaks honks and trumpets they were fairly quiet during this encounterElephant keepers have fondly reflected on Ambikas sense of humor particularly during mealtimes when the persnickety eater would arrange her grains to her liking before eatingAmbika was one of the most researched elephants in the world As part of the Zoos enrichment and training program elephant keepers trained Ambika to voluntarily participate in daily husbandry care and medical proceduresNot only did this allow animal care staff to routinely monitor her health but it also gave her the opportunity to help Zoo scientists better understand the behaviour biology reproduction and ecology of Asian elephants Ambika routinely allowed staff to collect blood samples for the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institutes endocrine lab to study cortisol levels participated in studies that assessed elephant vocalizations and enrichment preferences and enabled veterinarians to take carpal and toe radiographs to study the onset and progression of osteoarthritisMost notably Ambika was the first elephant to receive the gonadotropinreleasing hormone GnRH vaccine to prevent leiomyomasfibroids in the uteruswhich are a known cause of mortality in Asian elephants in human care Female Asian elephants in human care typically live into their mid40s there is not enough consistent data available on wild Asian elephants to accurately estimate their lifespanFor the past 59 years Ambika has been integral to the Zoos campaign to save Asian elephants from extinction and a favorite among generations of Zoo visitorsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates