- Malaika died at the age of 37 at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, USA.
- Her caregivers said she had struggled with mobility issues and a chronic illness.
- He starred in the 1998 children’s film Tons of Trouble.
37-year-old South African elephant Malaika, who made a career in Hollywood, has died in America.
She was buried near her home at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZ) in Colorado on Saturday, officials said, “after a long struggle with mobility problems and a chronic illness”.
Malaika was the youngest of the zoo’s six elephants, who ranged in age from 37 to 45.
CMZ said in a statement that they have accepted the fact that Malaika may die after a long battle with the disease.
“In February 2022, we prepared ourselves and our community for the possibility of losing Malaika at that time. He had some very bad days at the end of that month, but his fighting spirit allowed him to bounce back,” Zoo said.
Continuous:
Since then, his health has had its ups and downs, but unfortunately, it was his time.
Malaika came to Zoo in the year 2008 after being in the film industry for years. He played a leading role in the 1998 children’s film Tons of Trouble, where a eponymous African elephant enters the lives of four wide-eyed children.
Later, the kids are faced with saving their new pet when an elephant is spotted by a large predator.
At the time of her death, Malaika was known at the zoo for painting “in a sharp manner with short, quick brush strokes” according to her CMZ profile page.
His favorite foods were “apples, watermelon and bananas”.
All CMZ elephants are from southern Africa. Lucky was born in Kruger National Park, South Africa in 1980 and arrived at the zoo when he was just one year old.
Kimba was born in 1978, also in Kruger, and came to CMZ in 1981 as Lucky.
There is also Jumbo from Zimbabwe, who was born in 1983 and came to the zoo in 2011.
Missy and Lulu complete the group.
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