South Korea’s Oldest Elephant Sakura Passes Away at 59 at Seoul Grand Park

Sakura the oldest elephant in Korea, passed away on the 13th / at Seoul Grand Park

Sakura, the oldest elephant in Korea, was housed at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and passed away at 59. In human years, Sakura lived over 90 years and had a close brush with death due to a nail disease last year.

Seoul Grand Park posted an obituary on its website on the 14th, saying, “Sakura, the oldest elephant in Korea, who has received much love, left us yesterday. We thank those who have loved and cared for Sakura over the years and hope you will send her your condolences for her final journey.”

Sakura, an Asian elephant weighing 2.6 tons (approximately 5720 pounds), was born in Thailand in 1965. She performed in a circus at Takarazuka City Zoo in Japan just seven months after her birth. She came to Korea in 2003 when the Japanese zoo closed.

Sakura was shy and introverted. Although she didn’t get along well with the other elephants at Seoul Grand Park, she was treated as a symbol of longevity due to being the oldest animal at the zoo. Among the zookeepers, she was affectionately called “Grandma Elephant.”

Sakura was known to favor humans over other animals, recognizing the faces of her keepers and following them closely.

According to Seoul Grand Park, when her keepers called, “Sakura, come here,” Sakura enjoyed slowly approaching and carefully extending her long trunk to sniff them as if she was worried they might get hurt.

However, as time went on, Sakura began to struggle more often, spending more time alone and suffering from more ailments.

Several years ago, Sakura developed pododermatitis, an infection caused by bacteria in the toenails, and her condition worsened in September of last year, leading to a terminal diagnosis. Remarkably, she managed to pull through three months later. Pododermatitis is a common illness in elephants, caused by cracks in the toenails, which bear the body’s weight, being infected with bacteria.

The keepers, who stayed by Sakura’s side to treat her and provided her favorite foods such as bamboo and fruits to regain her appetite, did everything they could, but in the end, Sakura closed her eyes for the last time.