Elephant at Milwaukee County Zoo doing well after fall
MILWAUKEE, Wisc. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Ruth, a 43-year-old "geriatric" elephant at the Milwaukee County Zoo, is doing well after the animal fell earlier in the week and couldn't get up without help from a front-end loader.
The zoo said Friday that the African savanna elephant was "back out in the outdoor habitat and our vet staff continues to monitor her closely."
On Tuesday morning, Ruth "lost her footing on a log in the outdoor habitat due to aggressive behavior from a herd-mate, and she fell on her side," the zoo said. "Ruth remained down but continued actively trying to get back up on her own, although her age and position made that difficult."
The Milwaukee County Zoo said, "A front-load vehicle, operated by one of the zoo's vehicle machine operators and carefully guided by our elephant care coordinator, provided leverage for Ruth to ultimately be able to get up on her own and walk into the indoor habitat."
Footage released by the zoo Friday shows the elephant walking around and munching on hay in her enclosure.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, in the wild, African elephants tend to live about 65 years. But in human care, the median life expectancy for a female African savanna elephant is 39.4 years, the Milwaukee County Zoo said.
