"Boss" elephant Tara dies at Toronto Zoo.
Tara, a 41-year-old elephant at the Toronto Zoo, died Monday, Nov. 30.
Photo/TORONTO ZOO
Once, she tipped the scale at 10,000 pounds.She was "boss" of her all-female herd at Toronto Zoo, arrived in Canada on a Polish ocean liner, and loved having her keepers rub her face. Now Tara the elephant is dead, and a team of veterinarians was trying Tuesday to find out why.The autopsy, however, might not show what caused Tara - who was 41 and appeared healthy, active and interested in food - to collapse on the floor of her pen, where keepers found her early Monday morning.They scrambled to lift the 8,500-pound elephant using fabric straps on ropes, a portable winch and a backhoe. Tara generally slept standing up; lying down for a long time puts stress on a big animal's internal organs, said Eric Cole, supervisor of the zoo's African Savanna section."We know time's not on our side if an elephant's down."The staff managed to help Tara stand on her back feet but she couldn't muster the strength to free and stand on a front leg pinned under her, Cole said. "She just died with the effort."It's the fourth time in four years - and the third time in just 14 months - that the zoo's small herd has lost a member.Tessa, 39, died in June after she was in pushed over by another elephant, and Tequila, 38, died in September 2008. Patsy, the previous group matriarch, was euthanized at 40 in 2006 because she had painful, degenerative arthritis.All four elephants arrived around the time the zoo opened in 1974. The zoo says the average captive elephant lifespan is 40 to 45 years.When vets from the zoo and the University of Guelph examined the body of Tequila - found in the morning, like Tara, unable to stand - they could not find a cause and still can't explain what happened, Cole said."Of all our elephants, that's the big mystery. No health issues at all, and she was dead."Tessa, on the other hand, "had health issues her whole life." A post-mortem showed a heart condition and gall bladder problems, but such ailments are hard to diagnose while elephants are alive, said Cole."If there are any issues, people do spend the night there (in the pens). They're more than willing to do that," he said, but added keepers didn't have a reason to stay overnight with Tara.Female elephants are found to have intense social needs. But on Monday Cole said adding more to the zoo's dwindling herd is "the last thing on our minds right now." First, he said, keepers have to find out how the remaining elephants cope with Tara's absence."Tara broke up everything, Tara was the dominant elephant. Now everything's going to be different."Before it was moved for a post-mortem and burial on the property, Tara's body was left outside Monday and the remaining elephants Thika, Toka and Iringa "checked her out" with their trunks and stood around her, Cole reported. "It's hard to know what's going through their heads at that time."