Zoo officials and veterinarians made the decision Wednesday morning to euthanize the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's ailing elephant calf.
“She was a feisty calf, and she had a lot of fight,” a tearful Dr. Barbara Baker, zoo director, said late Wednesday morning. “So we had searched high and low to figure out why she's not gaining weight.”
The calf, born a month premature May 31, underwent surgery last week to install a feeding tube after she'd stopped eating due to teething pain, Baker said.
She said the calf should have been well over 200 pounds by this point. Prior to teething, she'd been about 184, and she was down to 166 this week.
“We have worked tirelessly over the last three months to have her gain weight and have her do well,” Baker said.
Because she was premature, the calf's weight was already a critical matter — she was more than 50 pounds underweight at birth, Baker said. Within the last week, veterinarians began to suspect they were dealing with some type of genetic abnormality that kept the calf from absorbing nutrients properly.
Baker said the veterinarians will perform a full necropsy.
Since the elephant fell into critical condition last week, Baker said, the zoo had been consulting with elephant experts around the world. They'd been warned that teething elephants can often fall ill and not recover.
The calf arrived in Pittsburgh shortly after her birth at Somerset County's International Conservation Center. Baker said she informed the center's staff of the situation Tuesday night to allow them to come say goodbye. Pittsburgh zoo staff was notified Wednesday morning in order to do the same.
Baker said she expects criticism.
“There's always criticism anytime you try to do anything new,” she said. “I can tell you that, having worked with the dedicated experts here, we made the humane decision to euthanize the calf. They are the experts, and they know what they're doing, and they consulted with everybody all across the world.”
Baker said the zoo is unique in that it is home to a herd of elephants of all different ages — something not seen often in zoos. She said they plan to continue the zoo's elephant breeding program.
“All of us tried really, really hard and did our best for her,” she said. “I believe we're very blessed to have a chance to know her. She was a wonderful spirit, I tell you. She was a really neat animal.”
Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519, mguza@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @meganguzaTrib. Staff writer Renatta Signorini contributed.
