South African celebrity elephant put down in USA

The 37-year-old South African elephant, Malaika, has passed away in a zoo in the United States after a long struggle with mobility issues and chronic illness.

The news was confirmed by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, where the elephant was housed.

In a statement, CMZ said Malaika went down Friday night and was unable to get back up on her own. The Colorado Springs Fire Department Heavy Rescue Team responded to the emergency but she was still unable to stand.

Malaika was then humanely euthanised at midday on Saturday and buried near her home in Colorado Springs.

The elephant had a long career in Hollywood, starring in several movies including 1998 children’s film Tons of Trouble, before quitting show businesses and moving to Colorado-based zoo in 2008.

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CMZ STATEMENT ON MALAIKA’S PASSING

“In February 2022, we had braced ourselves and our community for the possibility that we may lose Malaika at that time. She had some very bad days late that month, but her fighting spirit allowed her to bounce back. Since then, her health has been up and down, but unfortunately, this was her time,” the zoo said in a statement.

Malaika was the youngest of six elephants at the zoo, whose ages ranged between 37 and 45.

All CMZ’s elephants are from Southern Africa. Lucky was born in 1980 at the Kruger National Park and arrived at the zoo at just a year old. Kimba was born in 1978, also at Kruger and arrived at CMZ at the same time as Lucky.

Then there’s also Jambo from Zimbabwe, born in 1983 and introduced to the zoo in 2011, as well as Missy and LouLou, who round off the group.

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THE CELEBRITY SOUTH AFRICAN ELEPHANT