Animal Obituaries
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2003:
Black Bear #107, age 15, was roadkilled on June 29 near
Spring Hill, Florida, in a location environmentalists had argued
would become a death trap for bears if a 24-hour Walmart Supercenter
was built nearby. The store was built anyway, opening earlier in
2003. Two black bear cubs were killed nearby in September 2001.
Mira, 6, rescued by the Ferret Association of Connecticut
at age three months after being stepped on and burned with bleach,
was euthanized on June 18 after a two-year battle with cancer.
“Maynard,” a squirrel monkey used in behavioral research at
New England Regional Primate Research Center, escaped from his cage
while being trucked across the facility on July 11, acquired his
name when spotted 10 miles away in the town of Maynard 19 days later,
and was roadkilled nearby on August 1.
Bongo, 32, an Asiatic black bear who was rescued from the
failing Noah’s Ark Zoo in Milan, Italy by Brigitte Bardot in 2000,
was euthanized on July 30 at the Glasgow Zoo, his home for the past
three years. Bongo arrived with an ulcerated eye and a large
testicular tumor. The eye and his testicles were surgically removed.
He continued to suffer from cancer and arthritis, however, and was
originally slated for euthanasia one day earlier. The Glasgow Zoo is
now scheduled for permanent closure in September, and the Scottish
SPCA, helping to relocate the 68 resident animals, has
acknowledged that four other bears of ages between 20 and 30 are
probably also too old to place. The activist group Advocates for
Animals has alleged that the remaining bears and numerous other
hard-to-place animals are likely to be killed soon. The zoo
management has denied the allegation but seems to have few visible
alternatives.
Mavis, 23, the next-to-last of four Atlantic bottlenose
dolphins who were captured off Florida in May 1985 for exhibition at
the then-new West Edmonton Mall, in Edmonton, Alberta, died on
July 23. Veterinarian Carol Shwetz theorized that lingering grief
over the loss of her newborn calf in July 2002 may have caused her
terminal decline, as she refused to eat for no evident reason. She
also fasted for a prolonged time immediately after her baby died.
Mall general manager Gary Hanson pledged several years ago that he
will not import any more dolphins, but whether the last survivor,
Howard, will be relocated to have companionship has not yet been
decided.
Wild Eyed & Wicked, 11, a two-time winner of the American
saddlebred Triple Crown; his stablemate Meet Prince Charming; and
Kiss Me, kept in the same barn, were euthanized in mid-July, about
three weeks after someone injected a poison resembling cobra venom
into their forelegs as they rested in their stalls at the Double D
Ranch near Lexington, Kentucky. Police still have so suspects.
Ferdinand, 19, winner of the 1986 Kentucky Derby, was
apparently sold to a Japanese slaughterhouse at some point in 2002,
the horse trade journal Blood Horse reported on July 22. Ferdinand
was ridden to victory at Churchill Downs by Bill Shoemaker, then 54,
who won the Kentucky Derby for the fourth and last time. Ferdinand
was named Horse of the Year in 1987 after edging 1987 Kentucky Derby
winner Alysheba in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Ferdinand was retired
to stud in 1989 and was sold to a Japanese horse breeder in 1994.
Leta’s Princess, 3, a racing greyhound, was reportedly
injured on July 12 in a midrace collision with other dogs, stumbled
into the path of the motorized lure, was probably shocked on the
rail, was then bludgeoned by the lure, and was finally euthanized
on the track, Palm Beach Kennel Club spokesperson Theresa Hume told
Palm Beach Post staff writer Rochelle Brenner.
Kuno The Killer, a five-foot-long catfish weighing 77
pounds, was found dead during the third week in July alongside the
Volksgarten park late in the city of Moenchengladbach, Germany.
Kuno gained his name in 2001 by leaping from the lake to swallow a
Dachshund puppy.
Lulu, black Chihuahua pet of The Osbournes “reality TV”
family, was reportedly killed recently by coyotes who jumped a low
fence to invide the family yard in Beverly Hills, California.
Swift, 8, a corgi given to Queen Elizabeth of England by
the Queen Mother, died from natural causes circa June 11. The Queen
still has six other corgis and three “dorgis,” or corgi/dacshund
mixed breeds.
Peaches, 13, miniature poodle companion of Kenai, Alaska
resident Sally Youngberg, was on June 17 fatally stomped by a moose
while chasing a robin.
Kundavi, 13-year-old female elephant of the Big Temple at
Thanjavur, India, died on June 10. She was donated to the temple
at age five by actress turned politician Jayalitha.
Koko, 10, a survivor of the first clutch of Komodo dragon
eggs known to have been hatched outside of Indonesia, died on July
16 at the St. Louis Zoo, her home since August 1993. Seventeen
Komodo dragons in all hatched from that clutch at the National Zoo in
Washington, D.C.
