Iringa, the one-time gentle giant of Toronto’s zoo, dies in California
They say elephants never forget, but this time it’s the elephant that won’t be forgotten.
Iringa, an African elephant and longtime resident of the Toronto Zoo, was euthanized Wednesday at the PAWS wildlife sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif.
Iringa and two other elephants were moved to California after a campaign by game-show host Bob Barker.
At the time of her death the 46year-old was among the oldest African elephants in North America.
Eric Cole, former elephant manager for the Toronto Zoo, said the gentle giant made an impression on everyone at the zoo.
“A lot of people worked with Iringa, a lot of people got close with Iringa. It’s just a really sad day for us,” he said.
Stories from zookeepers reveal that Iringa had a personality that was almost as large as she was.
Rebecca Clark, one of the keepers who worked with Iringa, fought tears as she described her as an “elephant with an attitude.”
Clark told stories of the overgrown troublemaker stealing 22-kilo bags of carrots and whole jars of jelly- beans to satisfy her sweet tooth.
“She was the most trusting animal I ever worked with . . . I don’t know if I’ll ever work with an animal that has that level of trust in the keepers ever again,” she said.
Over the course of her nearly 40 years at the zoo the pachyderm proved popular with many.
Councillor and zoo management board member Glenn De Baeremaeker said he developed a “relationship” with Iringa, visiting her for more than two decades. “She was a big, beautiful, bold, brilliant elephant and thank goodness she died a happy elephant,” he said.
Iringa was born in Mozambique in 1969 and was one of the first elephants to join the exhibit at the Toronto Zoo in 1974. With her short tusks she became an instantly recognizable star at the zoo, even as the elephant herd grew to seven members.
The future of the zoo elephants became the topic of international debate after four of them died in a relatively short time. If one more died, the remaining two-elephant herd would have been considered too small to be healthy for the animals.
The fate of Iringa and her herd mates, Toka and Thika, was up in the air until Barker, who was also a U.S. animal rights activist, got involved and contributed $880,000 (U.S.) to cover the transfer of the elephants to a bigger facility.
After much debate, the three elephants were shipped to the PAWS sanctuary in 2013.
The 32-hectare habitat in southern California resembled their African homeland, with mud holes, trees and small rolling hills.
Iringa spent her final days there before staff decided her health had deteriorated too much and the only option to ease her suffering was euthanasia. She suffered from arthritis for many years due to her years in captivity and had trouble laying down.
But despite the short time she was with them, staff at the sanctuary also struggled with Iringa’s death.
“It’s like watching your parents get old. My father is 98, and you hold your breath every time the phone rings,” said Ed Stewart, founder and owner of the sanctuary.
“It was humbling to be around her for all of us. I wish she could have lived 100 years.”
According to the sanctuary, she was put down following a long history of degenerative joint and foot disease — the leading causes for euthanizing elephants in captivity.