Hanako, Dead at Age 69
Hanako, the oldest elephant in Japan, died Thursday at age 69 of unknown causes. An autopsy is scheduled. (I can't imagine how that is done.)
She came to Japan in 1949 as a gift from Thailand and lived in Ueno Zoo for five years, before moving to Inokashira Park Zoo. Her 69th birthday party, scheduled for March 21st, was canceled because of her poor health.
I didn't know how long elephants usually live, so I googled it. I found out Asian elephants have a usual lifespan of about 48 years and African elephants typicaly live 60-70 years, with elephants in the wild living longer than zoo animals. I don't now what kind of elephant Hanako was, but coming from Thailand and living in Japan, maybe she was an Asian elephant. It sounds like she lived a long time.
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| Hanako in 2015 |
2 comments:
She had small ears and so should have been an Asian elephant.
She was Asian. 69 years old. She must have been well cared for. I sure hope so.
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