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For 25 years, an African elephant named Christy enchanted Brookfield Zoo's keepers and visitors with a distinct turn of her head in their direction, an unmistakable sign the social beast wanted to interact.
On Tuesday, that loving connection ended when the 29-year-old elephant was euthanized after renal failure caused by an abnormal kidney and an enlarged ureter.
"Unfortunately, everybody came to the same conclusion," said Mike Adkesson, associate veterinarian for the Chicago Zoological Society, after consulting with elephant experts. "This was an irreversible process, there was no treatment and humane euthanasia was the best option."
Adkesson said Christy's left healthy kidney was the size of a watermelon. Her right kidney was the size of a flattened softball, he said.
Christy was just beginning to enjoy the company of Joyce, an African elephant. Joyce was brought to the zoo in August after Affie, the 39-year-old elephant who was something of a mother figure to Christy, died in May.
"We allowed Joyce to go into the stall where Christy laid down" after Christy died, said Carol Sodaro, associate curator of mammals for the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo. "Joyce sniffed the area, then rumbled to her."
Sodaro said the zoo is committed to keeping elephants and may add another.
An African elephant's life span averages 33 years in the zoo and in the wild. Adkesson said zoo staff were pleased Christy lived as long as she did with her condition, which was likely congenital. "The last few days we began to see a decline, and we were forced to make this very difficult decision," he said.