Packy, the Beloved Oregon Zoo Elephant, Loses Long Illness Battle

The Oregon Zoo sadly had to say farewell their well-loved animal, Packy the elephant.

Zoo officials say that Packy had to be euthanized after a very long battle against tuberculosis. He was 54 years old, making him the oldest male Asian elephant living in North America!

"We'd run out of options for treating him," veterinarian Dr. Tim Storms said. "The remaining treatments involved side effects that would have been very hard on Packy with no guarantee of success, plus a risk of creating further resistance [to treatment]. Non of us felt it would be right to do that. But without treatment, his TB would have continued to get worse."

"This is a tremendous loss for the entire community. Packy was one of the most famous animals in the world, but to the people who live here, the people who grew up with him, he was family," said Zoo Director, Don Moore.

"Packy's birth started it all. The focus on elephant welfare, the knowledge about elephants. If you think about the time when he was born, it's mind-boggling - Kenny was president, the Beatles hadn't made any records yet, cigarette did have warnings from the Surgeon General. We've learned so much about elephants since then, and it never could have happened without Packy," said Senior Elephant Keeper, Bob Lee.

"We loved Packy so much," said Lee. "He was my favorite - the most impressive animal I've ever known. It's hard to think about coming in to work tomorrow and not seeing him. There will never be another like him."

R.I.P. dear fellow. You will be missed dearly by so many!