World's Oldest Elephant Dies

zooboy28

zooboy28

Well-Known Member
World's Oldest Elephant Dies at the Thiruvananthapuram (or Trivandrum) Zoo, Kerala, India.

Well, I don't know if its the world's oldest, I'm just not aware of any that are older. And I'm not at all convinced the animal in question was 85 years old, given it was wild caught in 1946 - meaning it has spent 69 years in captivity, and I have no idea how they would know it was 16 years old at the time of capture (and indeed doesn't capturing a 16 year old elephant and totally taming it seem a little odd?). What is the longevity record for captive elephants?

Anyway, old elephant dies: https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/maheswari-85-old-elephant-dies-zoo-105036594.html

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 9 (IANS) Maheswari, an 85-year-old elephant who was brought from the wild in 1946, Monday died in the zoo here, barely two days after she fell ill.

Jacob Alexander, the vet who was treating the female elephant, told IANS: "Late last night, with the help of heavy belts, she was lifted from the ground where she lay and made to stand.

"She had her favourite food... But despite the best medical aid, we could not keep her alive," he said.

According to zoo records, Maheswari came from a forest area in Konni, now in Pathanamthitta district, in 1946.

Cynthia Chandran, a journalist and daughter of a former director of the zoo, told IANS that she grew up seeing Maheswari from the mid-70s.

"We stayed in the zoo till my father retired in 1989. At times she used to come in the night to our residence which had 26 different types of fruit trees. Her favourite was the jackfruit.

"Even after we left the campus, whenever any of us visited her, she would recognise us.

"I visited her yesterday and she used her trunk to feel me. She was the darling of so many people," Chandran added.

According to veterinarian Jacob Cheeran, elephants that live in the wild get their last set of teeth when they are 40 years old. "Captive elephants get it as late as at the age of 60."

The food habit of wild elephants is that they eat uncooked food and mostly thick leafy materials, while those in the captivity get cooked food especially pulses, cereals and plantains. So their teeth last longer.

"Once the teeth of the elephant become smooth, they have to be fed cooked food and plantains," said Cheeran.

Maheswari will get a befitting funeral in the zoo enclosure. As she is owned by the Kerala government, she will get an "official" farewell too. And there will be thousands of teary eyes.
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zooboy28 said:
What is the longevity record for captive elephants?
Click to expand...

The book “Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World” (Weigl; 2005) lists a number of Asiatic elephants that have lived in captivity for well over fifty years; the oldest of these being:-

• one that died after 56 years 9 months in captivity at an estimated age of 63 years
• one that died after 55 years 5 months in captivity at an estimated age of 65 or 66 years

None of the elephants listed in this book reached an age approaching the 85 years that “Maheswari” is alleged to have reached.
 
Elephants have lifespan limited by wear of their teeth - elephant in its late 50s wears down the last pair of molars and cannot feed. Old elephants in zoos must be given ground soft food. The book 'Zootierhaltung - Saugetiere' goes as far as saying that no documented elephant lived up to its 65 birthday.

This elephant either lived (improbable) for over 20 years eating soft food ground by the keepers, or it was two elephants - older and younger - listed as one.
 
Ranny, an asian elephant at Chapultepec zoo was reported to have been 66 t0 68 when she died in 2009 from falling in a moat. As she was a circus elephant before arriving to Chapultepec her exact age was not known.

In his book "Life on the Ark", longtime Lincoln Park zoo director Lester Fischer writes that Judy a (estimated) 44 year old asian elephant and ex circus performer was walked from Brookfield zoo to LPZ on July 2, 1943. Judy died on May 11, 1988, when she would have been over 85. Dr Fischer notes that Judy was a circus animal so the exact date of her birth was not known.
So the kerala elephant possible age could at least be possible.
 
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