Audubon Zoo loses crowd favorite elephant
One of the Audubon Zoo’s oldest animals, 55-year-old Asian elephant Panya, was put down Thursday, March 7 due to her kidney problems.
“Once it became clear that the condition was irreversible and her quality of life was being impacted, Audubon’s expert veterinary and animal care staff decided that the most humane course of action was to say goodbye to Panya,” zoo officials explained, regarding the tough decision to euthanize her.
Panya first arrived at the zoo in 1980 and spent a grand total of 39 years there. Her lengthy presence at the zoo impacted hundreds of thousands of people who came to visit over nearly two decades.
“Panya was an amazing animal — brilliant and incredibly strong spirited,” wrote Joe Forys, the Audubon Zoo Curator of Large Mammals, in an email to all zoo staff. “We all loved her, and we will miss her deeply.”
“Losing Panya is going to affect everyone,” Forys stated. “Everyone that ever worked with Panya loved her. I’ve known her over 19 years and we’re really going to miss her.”
Panya was also widely regarded as an ambassador for her species. Over 50 percent of the Asian elephant population has declined in the last 75 years and Panya’s exhibit helped to educate children and adults of their shrinking presence in the wild. Asian elephants could disappear entirely from existence in the next three generations if no action is taken.
The Audubon Zoo, which is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), is highly proactive in its conservation efforts. The AZA contributed a total of $10.5 million between 2012 and 2016.
Panya’s three elephant companions remain in the zoo, including her oldest friend Jean (age 46), who arrived with Panya in 1983. Surapa (36) and Jothi (37) joined the zoo from Buffalo in November 2018.
Joel Hamilton, the vice president and general curator of the Audubon Zoo, stated that elephants have “strong social structures” and that the elephants were still in the process of getting acquainted with each other when Panya passed and all four were never on display together. Audubon’s zookeepers will continue to consolidate the remaining elephants into one herd.
Panya’s living space recently underwent a $10 million renovation that took three years to finish. This new addition to the Asian Domain area gave her eight times the space of her old environment.
Many of Panya’s old fans are reaching out to the zoo and sharing their fond memories. “Every time I go to the zoo I tell my husband and kids, ‘When I was younger we used to ride the elephants,’” regular visitor Sherri Gregoire recalled from her youth. Now a mother of two, she and her family enjoy coming to the zoo and managed to visit the elephant one last time.
