Phoenix Zoo Mourns Death Of Elderly Asian Elephant 'Sheena'

PHOENIX, AZ — The Phoenix Zoo is feeling the loss of longtime resident Asian Elephant, Sheena, who died Monday morning.

Sheena's keepers found her laying down in her barn and unable to get up Monday morning and she died shortly after that, according to a news release from the zoo. Sheena was recently in stable condition, but for years her caregivers have carefully managed her chronic osteoarthritis and gastrointestinal issues.

Sheena, 50, had spent the last 21 years at the zoo. The average lifespan for an Asian Elephant is 45 years.

"Sheena was incredibly intelligent, extremely sweet and she seemed to love everybody,” Heather Wright, manager of elephants, said in the news release.

Wright said that Sheena was not outwardly rambunctious, but described her as "sneaky." Sheena's keepers would hear her playing with toys, but when they came to watch she would freeze and act like she hadn't been doing anything.

"It was so funny," Wright said.

Sheena originally came to the Phoenix Zoo in 2000 from the Wringling Brothers Center for Elephant Conservation. She lived near Indu, who is 56, and Reba, who died in 2020.

While Asian elephants typically live in herds, the Phoenix zoo's female elephants came from different backgrounds and preferred to live in separate habitats.

"A dedicated keeper team spent their days caring for, rotating them into various habitats, performing husbandry routines, providing enrichment among numerous other specific duties to ensure the best possible care for the elephants," the zoo said in the news release.

When the keepers would host "end of life" tours of the elephant exhibits for people whose final wishes were to spend time with the elephants, Sheena would gravitate to the person nearing the end of their life and offer them a "rumble."

The visitors would say that they felt a deep connection with her.

"It was a beautiful thing to witness,” Wright said. “She will be sorely missed by all her caretakers here at the Zoo, as well as our members and guests.”

Recently, Sheena and Indu received a new neighbor named Chutti, a greater one-horned rhino who came to the Phoenix Zoo from the Fresno Chaffe Zoo.

"Sheena was starting to warm up to him, still admiring him from afar since they were in separate habitats," the zoo said in the news release.

The Phoenix Zoo does not have plans to acquire another elephant.