Milwaukee County Zoo announces death of elephant Brittany
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee County Zoo has made the decision to euthanize one of their African savanna elephant Brittany.
The zoo announced her passing in a press release, saying that due to recently declining health, the staff decided the humane thing to do was to euthanize her at the zoo's Elephant Care Center Friday afternoon, April 10.
She was 45 years old.
The zoo previously shared that Brittany's health has been declining since January.
"Our team is still processing and going through loss," said Amos Morris, executive director of the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Brittany
Brittany arrived at the Milwaukee County Zoo in June of 2001 from Greenville Zoo in South Carolina. She was one of the longest-tenured residents at the zoo and survived well past the average life expectancy of an African savanna elephant in human care, which is almost 39 years old.
During her final moments, staff members stayed with Brittany, some of whom have been with her since she arrived 25 years ago, sharing stories and favorite moments. In her passing, they allowed her fellow herd member, Belle, to come and see her - to help Belle process her death.
"And this is a lesson I've personally learned from the animals in the zoo is that they have, they see death, they experience it and then they move on," said Morris. "They don't tend to dwell back in the past."
As to the future of elephants at the zoo, Morris says they first want to see how Belle reacts and then they want to see the results of the necropsy on Brittany. He emphasized the Milwaukee County Zoo will always have elephants.
Brittany