African elephant dies at PAWS animal sanctuary in San Andreas
A 41-year-old African elephant named Maggie, in the care of the Performing Animal Welfare Society in Calaveras County, died Tuesday at the PAWS sanctuary in San Andreas.
Maggie lived with significant arthritis and dental disease for much of her life.
The elephant’s caretakers for the nonprofit organization announced her death Thursday. They noted that in free-living elephants, a 41-year-old female would be in her prime, because African elephants can live to be 65 years old. In captive situations, the lives of caged, fenced, enclosed elephants are frequently cut short by captivity-induced ailments, including premature arthritis and foot disease.
According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the median life expectancy for female African elephants in captivity is just about 38 years.
Maggie was born in Zimbabwe around 1980, according to PAWS, the same time the former British colony gained independence and changed its name from Southern Rhodesia. Her mother was shot in a systematic killing of adult elephants by the government in order to stop elephants from encroaching on human settlements, and Maggie was captured at a young age.
By 1983, she was a captive on display at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, where she stayed for 24 years. For a time, Maggie was the only African elephant in Alaska.
In November 2007, Maggie weighed about 8,000 pounds when she was crated and put aboard a C-17 Globemaster III, one of the largest cargo jets made, and flown 2,000 miles to Travis Air Force Base, southwest of Sacramento.
Celebrity game show host and animal advocate Bob Barker, famous from 1956 to 2007 for his televised roles on Truth or Consequences and The Price is Right, paid for Maggie’s flight, according to PAWS. Barker also funded Maggie’s care for a number of years.
“Maggie enjoyed California’s sunny skies, the wide-open spaces of her habitat, and the company of other elephants for nearly 14 years at our sanctuary,” Ed Stewart, PAWS president, said in Thursday’s announcement. “She could often be found napping on a hillside, watched over by elephants Lulu and Toka. I am honored to have cared for Maggie and very proud of the keeper and veterinary care we provided for her throughout the years.”
A necropsy has been performed on Maggie’s remains by pathologists at U.C. Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. PAWS continues to care for seven elephants, including Lulu, the oldest known African elephant in the U.S. The sanctuary also rescues and cares for bears and big cats.
PAWS, the Performing Animal Welfare Society, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. For more information visit www.pawsweb.org/index.html online.