Knox News (Knoxville, TN)
March 11, 2006
By Amy Mcrary

Original Article

Mamie, known for her artistic use of a paintbrush, euthanized

Photo Credit and Caption from original article:
BRYAN CAMPBELL / NEWS SENTINEL FILE

Mamie, the oldest elephant at the Knoxville Zoo at 45,
was euthanized Friday after failing health.
She was famous for her abilities with a paintbrush,
loved mud and disliked cheese bread.

The African elephant Mamie, a fixture at the Knoxville Zoo for a quarter century, was euthanized Friday evening after 11 months of declining health. She was 45 years old, considered geriatric by zoo officials.

Known for her full-figure, abstract painting and stubborn streak, Mamie had endured arthritis and foot problems for at least 15 years. Her health had been declining since April 2005 but worsened in recent weeks as she developed neurological problems.

Those problems got even worse over the past few days, and a decision was made to euthanize the pachyderm Friday evening.

Mamie died in the elephant barn at the Stokely African Elephant Preserve, attended by zookeepers and medical personnel. University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine staff will conduct a necropsy, which is an animal autopsy, to officially determine the cause of her declining health.

At times over recent months, Mamie appeared disoriented, with glazed-over eyes, or stumbled as she walked. Last April, she fell on her side in the outdoor elephant habitat.

For months, zookeepers had been closely monitoring the animal's ailments and actions in what zoo Executive Director Jim Vlna in November termed "hospice care."

Born in Africa, she came to the Knoxville Zoo in 1979 from the Buffalo, N.Y., zoo. During her life at the park, she grew famous for her artistic ability and high-strung temperament.

Mamie learned to paint holding a brush in her trunk and was known to pick her colors carefully for her art. The paintings she and the zoo's other elephants created through the years have raised funds for the animals' upkeep.

While Mamie was the biggest and the oldest of the zoo's three female pachyderms, she never wanted the role of the dominant cow. Instead, she was content to be a submissive animal that enjoyed mud and disliked cheese bread.

In recent months, zookeepers worked to make the ailing animal comfortable. They raised the elephant barn temperature and added piles of soft sand in the animals' outdoor habitat and in Mamie's barn stall for her to straddle over or lean on.

The zoo has three other elephants - the females Jana and Edie and the bull elephant Tonka.

Mamie was a popular animal with visitors and zoo staff members. Those wishing to express sympathy or caring thoughts toward Mamie's keepers and caregivers are asked to address them to: "Thoughts for Mamie," P.O. Box 6040, Knoxville, TN 37914. Or e-mail condolences to thoughtsformamie@knoxville-zoo.org.