A beloved elephant has died, the Toronto Zoo announced on Sunday.
It's the second elephant to die at the zoo in nine months.
Tessa, who was born in the wild but taken in by the institution in 1974, was knocked over by a more dominant member of the herd.
Despite the best efforts by staff, she was not able to stand back up on her own. She was 39 years old.
A zoo keeper saw the unexpected attack on Saturday and staff quickly sprang into action. Heavy equipment and a sling were used, and employees kept the elephant comfortable with water and food, but it was too late.
Tessa died during rescue efforts.
"There was too much weight on her organs," marketing director Shanna Young explained.
Elephants, like people, form strong social networks, the zoo outlined in a press release. The zoo's four remaining elephants - Thika, Toka, Iringa and Tara - were allowed to view the body and mourn Tessa's death.
A post-mortem was conducted on Sunday. Tessa will be buried on zoo property.
"Tessa was the gentlest of elephants and was dearly loved by the elephant keeping staff," remembered Eric Cole, supervisor of the African Savanna.
"Tessa was a weaker member of the herd and enjoyed a life expectancy longer than would have happened in the wild. Ordinarily Tessa managed to avoid the activities of the more dominant elephants but in this incident was caught off guard and tripped over."
File photo.
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