Elephant had rare blood cancer

Boo is introduced to the public at the San Antonio Zoo. Boo arrived in 2010 from a private owner. Boo is introduced to the public at the San Antonio Zoo. Boo arrived in 2010 from a private owner. Photo: San Antonio Express-News File Photo Photo: San Antonio Express-News File Photo Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Elephant had rare blood cancer 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

At 8,500 pounds and as one of only two elephants at the San Antonio Zoo, Boo was something to behold for visitors.

But to zookeepers, the 59-year-old female Asian elephant was a member of the family.

So when the final decision was made Sunday to euthanize her as she grew weaker and weaker due to cancer, Boo was surrounded by two zoo veterinarians, five veterinary pathologists and 30-plus zookeepers and technicians, many of them teary at one point or another.

Two or three at a time, they took turns rubbing her belly or legs or scratching her ears in her last moments.

“I loved her to death,” said Mike Huff, senior keeper in the elephant department, who tended to Boo almost daily, filing her toenails and cleaning her foot pads. In her final weeks, he ignored the usual weight-control rules and indulged her with all her favorite treats: apples, lettuce, melon and oranges.

“She was a great elephant,” Huff said. “She was pretty laid back and mellow.”

Boo's death left only Lucky, a 52-year-old Asian elephant who has been at the San Antonio Zoo since the 1960s, in the elephant enclosure on Monday when Spring Breakers swarmed the zoo on a magnificent cloudless day.

“That elephant must be sad,” patron Lucie Arteaga said, peering at Lucky under the bright sun as the enormous creature flapped her ears.

Family friend Gaby Sundberg, 9, said she felt sad at hearing the news, having visited Boo several times previously. Her grandma, Carol Sundberg, said the girl already “was asking, 'When are we going to get the next one?'”

That is something currently under discussion by zoo administrators, said Dr. Rob Coke, senior veterinarian for the zoo.

Coke said Boo's illness first became apparent in late January, when she began moving more slowly than normal. Blood tests showed her to be a little anemic, which was a red flag. He continued to run blood tests and noted that Boo had an increasing amount of abnormal white blood cells and decreasing platelets.

While a final diagnosis will be made after results from Sunday night's necropsy are studied, Coke's initial diagnosis is B-cell leukemia resulting from lymphoma.

This type of cancer is unheard of in elephants, Coke said.

“Talking with elephant experts, this is new territory,” he said.

Boo's skull and some specimens will be preserved for future research or display in a biology museum or education center. As with other animals, cremation followed her death.

No memorial is planned.

At 59, Boo outlived the average female Asian elephant kept in a zoo. According to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, the median life expectancy for them is 46.9 years.

Boo first came to the San Antonio Zoo three years ago after living on private property in East Texas. A former circus elephant, she was cooperative with trainers and understood several commands, such as lifting her foot or her trunk.

She seemed to like human interaction, Huff said.

When introduced to Lucky, “Boo would try to interact with Lucky, and Lucky would turn around and go the other way,” Huff said.

But after nearly three years together, the elephants would stand side-by-side and eat out of the same hay pile.

“Toward the end, they got along really well,” Huff said.

Lucky, described by keepers as independent, wasn't showing significant signs of distress on Monday but did seem “a little anxious,” he said.

In Boo's final days, she was very weak and couldn't stand well.

“We knew she was going downhill, and we could do just what we could do to make her comfortable,” Huff said.

Heavy-hearted though they were, Coke and Huff said they knew it was time.

“It was sad,” Coke said, “But everybody understood. It was sad, but it was a relief to her.”

mjaffee@express-news.net