South African celebrity elephant dies in US zoo

• Malaika died at the age of 37 at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, in the US.
• Her handlers said she struggled with mobility issues and chronic illness.
• She starred in the 1998 children's movie Tons of Trouble.

Malaika, a 37-year-old female South African elephant that had a Hollywood career, has died in the US.

She was buried on Saturday near her home at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZ), in Colorado after "a long struggle with mobility issues and chronic illness", authorities said.

Malaika was the youngest of six elephants at the zoo, whose ages ranged between 37 and 45. 

In a statement, CMZ said they had come to terms with the reality that Malaika could die after a long battle with illness.

"In February 2022, we had braced ourselves and our community for the possibility that we may lose Malaika at that time. She had some very bad days late that month, but her fighting spirit allowed her to bounce back," the zoo said.

It continued:

Malaika arrived at the zoo in 2008 after years in the movie industry. She played a starring role in the 1998 children's film Tons of Trouble, where an African elephant by the same name wandered into the lives of four wide-eyed children.

The children are later faced with saving their new pet when a big-game hunter sets his sights on the elephant.

By the time of her death, Malaika was known at the zoo for her painting with "quick short strokes of the brush in a quick fashion" according to her profile page at CMZ.

Her favourite food was "apples, watermelons and bananas".

All CMZ's elephants are from Southern Africa. Lucky was born in 1980 at the Kruger National Park, South Africa, and arrived at the zoo at just a year old.

Kimba was born in 1978, also at Kruger and arrived at CMZ in 1981, the same time as Lucky.

There's also Jambo from Zimbabwe, born in 1983 and introduced to the zoo in 2011.

Missy and LouLou round off the group.