Chicago Zoological Society

The Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) is deeply saddened to announce the sudden death of Affie, a beloved 40-year-old African elephant at Brookfield Zoo.

At 4 a.m. Friday, the night zookeeper checked on both of the zoo’s African elephants, Affie and Christy, and they were both fine. When Affie’s keepers arrived around 8 a.m., she was lying on her side and was not able to stand back up. Despite heroic efforts and hours of attempts by zoo staff to assist the 10,400-pound elephant, they were unable to get her back on her feet. Affie died around 2:00 p.m. on Friday with her zookeepers and other Animal Programs staff around her. The cause of death is pending completion of the necropsy (animal autopsy).

At 40 years old, Affie was the sixth oldest African elephant cared for in an accredited North American zoo. Just like people, geriatric animals require special care. CZS officials have worked for years to keep Affie comfortable as she aged, including creating a sand pile she could lean on indoors, and adding a specialized floor several months ago. Geriatric care is an increasing emphasis of CZS because animals, on average, are living longer in the care of zoos. The expertise gained from caring for Affie during the past several years will contribute to the zoological community’s care of geriatric elephants.

According to a 2004 scientific study conducted by Robert J. Wiese, Ph.D., and Kevin Willis, the average life expectancy for female African elephants in North American zoos is 33 years. The report further states that this life expectancy value is similar to the life expectancy of wild elephants.

“Affie was a special animal loved by guests and our staff. Because she was in her senior years, we knew that one day we would have to say good-bye, but it's still heartbreaking to lose such a charismatic animal. The keepers are devastated because this happened so suddenly,” said Kim Smith, CZS vice president of animal care. “It is some comfort to us to know that we were able to extend and improve her quality of life as she aged.”

Affie arrived at Brookfield Zoo in 1979 from Indianapolis Zoo. She was one of the zoo’s most popular animals with guests. Every year, hundreds of her fans would gather in front of the pachyderm yard to celebrate her birthday, which was scheduled this year for June 13.