Advertisement Chai the elephant dies at Oklahoma City Zoo Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Oklahoma City Zoo lost a family member Saturday morning.Chai, a 37-year-old Asian elephant, has died. The elephant came to the Oklahoma City Zoo in May with 48-year-old Asian elephant Bamboo from Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.Officials said the median life expectancy for a female Asian elephant is 47 years.Zookeepers found Chai at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, and the cause of death is not known at this time.Officials said a necropsy was performed on the elephant, and they are waiting on final lab results for the cause of death.Zoo officials said Chai seemed to be in good health and received regular wellness checkups and routine observations from zookeepers. The remaining elephant herd is behaving normally at this time.“Chai was behaving normally yesterday as late as 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Eating healthy. Interacting with the rest of the female herd," said Tara Henson, director of public relations at the Oklahoma City Zoo. "She participated in routine training sessions that help us look at the care and well-being of the animals. There was nothing that would indicate that anything was wrong with her. So, quite a shock this morning.”The elephant habitat will be open to guests, but elephant presentations have been canceled for the weekend."We’d like to send our condolences to our colleagues and friends at the Woodland Park Zoo," Henson said.Rachel Mathews, with the PETA Foundation, released the following statement about Chai's death: "Chai did not have to die this way, in this crowded zoo, when she had had a chance to live in a sanctuary and be watched over and cared for. She endured a lifetime of unthinkable violations, including at least 112 instances of artificial insemination. Less than a year ago, the Woodland Park Zoo denied her the chance of a real retirement and sent her to the Oklahoma City Zoo, where an elephant calf died in October of a highly fatal disease associated with captive elephants. For the sake of these elephants' health and safety, PETA is calling for this elephant exhibit to be shut down immediately and for the elephants to finally be sent to an accredited sanctuary, where they will never die alone and unassisted as Chai did."Henson said the zoo has no response to PETA and there are no plans to shut down the elephant exhibit.Chai the elephant dies at OKC Zoo Facebook post