Saddest Elephant In World Dies Alone After 43 Years In Captivity

The female elephant dubbed the “saddest in the world” has died after spending 43 years alone in a zoo.

The female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) named Flavia arrived at the zoo in the city of Cordoba in southern Spain when she was three years old in 1976.

Flavia, the elephant.

Flavia has now died after suffering from health issues which had been detected in the last few years and reports say the elephant was also suffering from deep depression.

The announcement of Flavia’s death was made by the representative of the Environment of the Local Government of Cordoba, Amparo Pernichi.

In a press conference, Pernichi stated that the news was very sad in general for the zoo, especially for Fran and Javi who were the elephant’s carers in her last moments, and also Silvia, who previously took care of Flavia.

Flavia, the elephant.

The statement added: “In the last six months, the physical state of Flavia got worst, but especially in the last two weeks.”

Pernichi said that the elephant was no longer able to stand up, and had been given an injection to ease her suffering. When Flavia fell asleep, she was given another injection to help her on her way and no longer suffer.

Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) stated they had been working to save Flavia from captivity until her very last moments. The elephant was also seen by experts from Belgium and France in January. They added that it had lived all of its life in confinement and solitude and is a symbol of the sad life of animals in zoos.