The Philadelphia Zoo and the people of Philadelphia suffered a loss today.  Petal, the oldest African elephant in an American zoo – died suddenly this morning – at the age of 52.  The cause of death is yet to be determined, and she is survived by the two other African Elephants sharing her pen – Kallie (age 25) and Bette (age 25).   Petal, Kalie, and Bette were all born in the wild.

Generations of Philadelphia Zoo visitors have had the pleasure of Petal’s company in the zoo.  Petal had not shown any signs of disease or ill health.  Zoo staff reviewing the 24 hour a day camera trained on the Petal’s stall saw that her right rear leg gave out in the early morning hours.  Zoo employees knew something was wrong when they arrived to work and saw Petal laying down on her side because she normally sleeps standing up.

Medical help was immediately sought and Zoo vets and other staff members spent two hours attempting to comfort Petal and help her back onto her feet before she finally died at about 9:15am.

Because of the close bonds Bette and Kallie had with Petal they will be monitored closely.  Well-known for their intelligence, close family ties and social complexity, elephants remember for years other individuals and places.

Elephants are long-lived animals. The few long-term studies done to date suggest that elephants in the wild can expect to live to their mid 40s. (Life expectancy is how long a “typical” individual would be expected to live; half the individuals will not live as long, half will live longer). Some elephants live well beyond this age, to 65 or perhaps occasionally older. At age 52, Petal was already well beyond typical life expectancy and was in great shape for her age.