COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens says one of its female African elephants has died.
Zoo officials tell local media outlets that 44-year-old Petunia was euthanized on Saturday after a rapid decline in health.
Petunia had been at Riverbanks for the last decade and had previously lived at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the Toledo Zoo in Ohio and at Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee. The zoo is awaiting the results of a necropsy, which it said may take six to eight weeks for final results.
Officials say the median life expectancy for female African elephants in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is about 38.5 years. Riverbanks is also home to three other female elephants all over 35 years old.
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