beloved elephant dies at Dhaka Zoo

Chlidonias · **beloved elephant dies at Dhaka Zoo** 26-07-2010

first thread for Bangladesh!
"...veterinarians had examined her teeth and concluded that Pabantara was aged “around 100 years”."....I'll hold my opinion on that

Gulf Times ? Qatar?s top-selling English daily newspaper - SriLanka/Bangladesh

Quote:

Bangladesh’s biggest zoo has declared three days of mourning following the death of a 100-year-old elephant which was its top attraction and “loyal servant”, an official said yesterday.
Pabantara collapsed on Thursday after a heart attack and died hours later, plunging her fans into grief, A H M Shahidullah, head of the state-owned Dhaka Zoo, told AFP.
The female Asian elephant had lived at the zoo since it was founded in 1957 and had carried hundreds of thousands of children and adults on fun rides — a key activity at the zoological garden.
“All the mahouts (caretakers) and those who knew Pabantara cried like babies over her death,” Shahidullah said.
“Some mahouts who retired from the zoo came all the way from their villages to be at her side. They prayed and lit candles and incense at her grave,” he said.
During the mourning period, which began on Friday and will finish today, “there will be no fun-rides on the other elephants,” he said.
“We will hold special prayers at a mosque to seek eternal blessings for Pabantara and other animals who are ill,” Shahidullah added.
Pabantara had been a huge money spinner for the zoo on the northern outskirts of Dhaka, capital of the mainly Muslim country.
“She also was one of the oldest Asian elephants in this region. She was always peaceful and friendly. She was one of the most favourite animals and a loyal servant of the zoo. She deserves respect,” Shahidullah added.
Shahidullah said veterinarians had examined her teeth and concluded that Pabantara was aged “around 100 years”.
The elephant had been buried on the zoo grounds, Shahidullah said.

Steve Robinson · 26-07-2010

World renowned elephant trainer Buckles Woodcock was often asked by the public about the longevity of elephants. His standard answer of 50+ years was usually greeted with disbelief by people accustomed to hearing tales like the one above.

When he changed his answer to something along the lines of "...... it is said that an elephant once lived to 100 years" his inquisitors would nod their heads knowingly, convinced of his wisdom!

Can anyone confirm the true age of Taronga's Jessie?

Jarkari · 27-07-2010

I once worked with an elephant that was believed to be in her late 90's, her mahout looked like he was a similar age (but that may have been all of the Arrack the mahouts are so fond of).

I can't help with your question Steve but I find it interesting that elephants are one of few animals that tend to live longer lives in the wild then in captivity. Elephants are a difficult animal to work with and very draining both physically and mentally. I also find it intereseting that all the captive elephants that I have heard of living to their 80's and 90's have been managed traditionally, rather then western management styles which are slightly less aggressive. I'm not saying we should handle elephants traditionally, they also have a higher mortality rate in younger animals (5 - 30 years old). Just something I find interesting.

Chlidonias · 27-07-2010

I didn't even realise there were photos from Dhaka Zoo in the Zoochat gallery! There are two photos of the elephant Pabantara there. Dhaka Zoo Gallery

Member Iberthung wrote the following regarding the three elephants at the zoo

Quote:

I asked about their age and they responded about 70 years old. However, I think that is a bit of an exaggeration. I believe the elephants came to the zoo at the same time after it was reopened in 1974, 3 years after the liberation war. They were probably very young elephants that time so my rough guess is that they are around 40 years old.

On this page The status of Bangladesh's captive elephants - Md. Anwarul Islam it says that Pabantana and Kushumtara are about 60 years old and Kajaltara is about 35 years old but I can't verify the correctness of the information.

I can't see a date on the webpage linked to, but there is a paper in its bibliography from 1999 so its fairly recent

Jabiru96 · 27-07-2010

Could I ask what the "average" age for an elephant is?

Chlidonias · 27-07-2010

I was trying to find something I've read in the past about how elephants die of starvation when they lose their final set of teeth and can no longer feed. In general terms this limits their lifespan to around 60 years or so. In captivity they can obviously be kept going longer on artificial soft foods, but ages of 100 years are in my opinion quite ridiculous. I know Wikipedia isn't very reliable in a lot of cases, but here's a quote regarding tooth replacement:

Quote:

Only four chewing teeth (premolars and/or molars), one on each side of each jaw, are in primary use at any given time. Adult teeth do not replace milk teeth by emerging from the jaws vertically as human teeth do. Instead, new teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, pushing older teeth toward the front. In African elephants, the first two sets of chewing teeth (premolars) are in place when an elephant is born. The first chewing tooth on each side in each jaw falls out when the elephant is about two years old. The second set of chewing teeth falls out when the elephant is about six years old. The third set is lost at 13 to 15 years of age, and set four lasts to 28 years of age. The fifth set of chewing teeth (molars) lasts until the elephant is about 43. The sixth (and usually final) set must last the elephant the rest of its life. When an elephant becomes more than 60 years old, the last set of molars is worn to stumps, and it can no longer feed properly and eventually dies. Moss reports an observation of an elephant in her sixties whose molars were worn smooth and about one-quarter of their original size who survived "with extra chewing and longer feeding bouts." Abcesses of chewing teeth, as well as of tusks and jaws, are common in elephants, and may lead to premature death.

Steve Robinson · 27-07-2010

From my limited experience of aged Asiatic cows this is pretty accurate. I don't doubt that Africans would be pretty much the same.

Some years ago we had an aged cow on hire to our circus. She was on her sixth set and they were just about finished. Her faeces were no longer boluses but elongated masses of very poorly digested vegetable matter. Her owners [Bullens] kept her in remarkably good condition by supplementing her diet with grain, molasses etc and spoiling her big time. It is really remarkable what some psychological support can do for elderly, intelligent animals like elephants and chimps. She was retired to the park at Wallacia where she died some time later. She was in her 60s.

Jarkari · 28-07-2010

Elephants in their 50's are often referred to as being in their twilight years even late 40's

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