ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A trio of elephants at the St. Louis are continuing to beat the odds and living well past their species' life expectancy. Asian elephants Pearl, Donna and Ellie all turned 50 this year.
These "Golden Girl," as the zoo named them, are part of a multi-generation elephant family in St. Louis, which is a critical part of the elephants’ mental and emotional health. The median life expectancy for Asian elephant females under human care is 47.5 years old.
Pearl (photo above) was the first female elephant to give birth at the Zoo. She is the mother of our bull elephant Raja and grandmother to Maliha, Jade, and Priya. A good problem solver, she loves challenging puzzle feeders filled with special treats.
Donna has distinctive, flappy ears that are always moving. She is conversational and enjoys making sounds with her trunk on various objects. A fantastic auntie, she used to spar with a much younger Raja. Nowadays, she helps teach Raja’s kids manners, such as sharing food and respecting elders.
Ellie (with her daughter Ellie in photo above) is a doting mother of three, a grandmother and our tallest female. She has a calm demeanor and does life by her own schedule. She enjoys pruning our trees and chilling in one of the pools under the waterfall.
The elephant care team, along with Animal Health and Nutrition teams, provide a unified approach to animal care through many different outlets, including daily exercises focused on stretching, in-depth health check-ups, and specialized nail and dental care. The multi-generation elephant family at the Zoo also is a critical part of the elephants’ mental and emotional health. Furthermore, the elephant care team implements a number of preventative measures to ensure the older elephants’ comfort and safety, such as conditioning the soil to provide a softer walking surface for the animals.
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