RIP SHIRLEY: Adored survivor of 1963 circus ship fire in Yarmouth dies at age 72
It’s been said that elephants never forget and many in Yarmouth have also never forgotten Shirley the elephant – remembering her on her birthdays are now mourning her on her death.
Shirley was a much-beloved survivor of the 1963 circus ship fire that happened in Yarmouth’s harbour.
She died on Feb. 22 at the age of 72, at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, where she had been cared for since first arriving in 1999.
She was the sanctuary’s oldest elephant and held the record for being the second oldest elephant in North America, according to the sanctuary’s website, which also said Shirley had lived well beyond the life expectancy of a captive Asian elephant.