Miami-Dade, FL – An iconic elephant at a South Florida Zoo needed to be euthanized following a collection of well being issues final week.
Staff at Zoo Miami euthanized Asian elephant Dalip on Thursday after the 56-year-old elephant was discovered mendacity down in his habitat, unable to rise up.
Zoo Miami spokesperson Ron Magill instructed Local 10 News Dalip “had been shedding pounds and displaying different indicators of declining well being related along with his superior age” over the previous months.
Magill says the workers decided there was little to no likelihood of restoration.
Magill instructed Local 10 News “tears flowed as workers that had labored with and identified Dalip for a few years lined as much as say goodbye. To many, he was not solely the patriarch of the elephant herd on the zoo, however the truth is was acknowledged because the patriarch of the complete animal inhabitants that calls the zoo residence.”
Dalip was believed to be the oldest Asian elephant bull within the nation.
He was Zoo Miami’s final animal to have lived on the previous Crandon Park Zoo on Key Biscayne, the predecessor to Zoo Miami.
Dalip arrived as a year-old calf from India in August of 1967 as a present from philanthropist Ralph Scott.