US NEWS/ CHRISTY, THE ELEPHANT, DIES AT 28

Christy, an African elephant, died yesterday at the Brookfield Zoon in suburban Chicago. The 28 year old, who had arrived at Brookfield in 1984, was was euthanized as a result of kidney failure. A necropsy showed problems with her right kidney and ureters, none of which were treatable. She was diagnosed with kidney troubles in 2007, but zoo officials thought that the disease would not progress. However, over the past few days, Christy's condition took a turn for the worse as she went into complete renal failure and began to deteriorate rapidly, the zoo said. She became increasingly lethargic, and officials began to see signs of fluid accumulation and signs of complete renal failure. The zoo brought in outside elephant and large-mammal specialists over the weekend, he said, and they all agreed that Christy's condition was irreversible, leading to the decision to euthanize her. In May, Christy, was left alone when her long-time companion, Affie, a 40-year-old female African elephant, died. The pair are pictured above, with Christy to the right of Affie. This past August, the zoo found a new companion for her, bringing in another female, 26-year-old Joyce, from California. According to a zoo officials, Joyce is definitely aware something has changed. The zoo will now try to find her companionship as soon as possible because elephants are extremely social animals that don't like to be alone. (SK COMMENT: Do I like animals being in Zoo's? The answer is definately not. However, I do recognzie that there are those already in them, and as such, they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. And for some endangered animals, a zoo is the last refuge before extinction. On a personal note, Christy was a beautiful elephant, and a joy to behold. She was a magnificent creature).