For Release: January 25, 2006
Media only:
Peper Long 
(202)
633-3082
John Gibbons (202)
633-3083
Asian Elephant Euthanized
Toni, a 40-year-old Asian elephant, was euthanized Wednesday morning at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, following a dramatic decline in her physical condition and quality of life.
Toni had a long history of arthritis, resulting from a leg injury she received before arriving at the National Zoo in 1989. The condition worsened last summer and then improved in the following months, as Toni responded well to medical treatment for her arthritis, which included ibuprofen and Cosequin, a glucosamine-based joint supplement.
However, despite her strong appetite and normal disposition, Toni continued to lose weight and muscle mass. Zoo staff investigated all available diagnostic and treatment protocols to identify and treat possible contributing factors. However, despite their best efforts and extraordinary care, Toni’s condition and quality of life continued to decline.
Zoo staff made the difficult decision to euthanize based on the elephant’s rapid decline. A final pathology report may not be complete for many months. “As director of the National Zoo, I must ensure that our animals receive the highest quality care. I can say with confidence that Toni, a beloved member of our family, received the highest standards of care, both from the professional and careful attention of our keepers and from the expert medicine practiced by our veterinary staff,” said John Berry, National Zoo director.
The Elephant House will be closed to the public Jan.
25 through Jan. 29; it will reopen on Monday, Jan. 30.
Visitors may be able to view the National Zoo’s
three elephants in their outdoor yards during that time.
Toni Elephant’s History
- According to records received by the National Zoo, Toni arrived in the United States from Thailand in September 1966. She was approximately 7 months old.
- After six years at a children’s zoo, Toni was shipped to the Nay Aug Park Zoo in Scranton, Pa.
- Toni was the only elephant at the Nay Aug Park Zoo, which closed in 1988. She was housed alone in a concrete enclosure with a concrete yard. The conditions were not the standards considered appropriate by the National Zoo.
- Toni sustained an injury to her left front leg in 1975, while at the Nay Aug Park Zoo. As a result of this injury, Toni was unable to move the front left carpal joint, and to compensate, always placed more weight and pressure on her right leg.
- In October 1989, Toni was moved from the Nay Aug Park Zoo to the National Zoo because of the successful elephant socialization program here. Toni had not seen another elephant or walked on soil since her youth.
- Keepers at the National Zoo began training Toni immediately, and started slowly introducing her to the other Zoo elephants. Through painstaking effort by Zoo keepers, Toni was able to fully interact with other elephants by May 1990. Toni has spent nearly 17 years at the National Zoo, socializing with other elephants and swimming in the outdoor pools.
- In 2001, Zoo veterinarians successfully treated Toni for acute kidney disease—a major accomplishment. National Zoo veterinarians published a paper that outlined the course of treatment in the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine.
- In the summer of 2005, Zoo keepers noticed a major change: Toni was favoring her left leg instead of her right leg. Since she injured her left leg in 1975, she had always placed more weight on her right leg. This observation that she shifted weight to her injured left leg was an indication that Toni’s arthritis had worsened.
- In the following months, Zoo veterinarians treated Toni with ibuprofen for its anti-inflammatory and pain relief properties and glucosamine for supplementing her joints. Initially, she responded well to treatment, but her condition declined again in January 2006.
- Toni was a small elephant, and at her peak weighed between 6,000 and 6,500 pounds. For the past couple of years, she weighed 5,800 pounds periodically. She also experienced some muscle loss during this period, but she kept a healthy appetite, and ate more grain per day than the other three National Zoo elephants.
Elephants at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Kandula, a male, was born on Nov. 25, 2001. He weighed 325 pounds at birth and now weighs more than 3,500 pounds. Kandula means “strength and virtue” in Sinhalese, a language of Sri Lanka. His mother is Shanthi, who was artificially inseminated in February 2000.
Shanthi, a female, was born in approximately 1975. Shanthi came from Sri Lanka, where she was hand-reared at the Pinnewela Elephant Orphanage. The children of Sri Lanka gave her to the National Zoo in 1976 as a gift. Shanthi means “peace” in Sinhalese. It also is translated to mean “blessing.” Shanthi weighs more than 9,000 pounds, and is the largest elephant in the National Zoo’s herd. Kandula is Shanthi’s second calf; her first, a female born in 1993 died two years later of what is now known as elephant herpes virus.
Ambika, a female, was born in approximately 1948 and weighs nearly 8,000 pounds. She was captured in the Indian forest when she was about 8 years old and placed in a logging camp. In 1961, the children of India gave Ambika to the National Zoo. She is one of the five oldest Asian captive elephants in North America.
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