{"id":16188,"date":"2025-04-13T09:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T09:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/16188\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T09:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T09:55:09","slug":"aging-animals-find-the-extra-care-they-need-at-barcelonas-zoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/16188\/","title":{"rendered":"Aging animals find the extra care they need at Barcelona’s zoo"},"content":{"rendered":"

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) \u2014 At the Barcelona<\/a> Zoo, a 40-year-old African elephant<\/a> places her foot through the metal barrier where a zookeeper gently scrubs its sole \u2014 the beloved pachyderm gets her \u201cpedicure,\u201d along with apple slices every day.<\/p>\n

The treatment is part of the zoo\u2019s specialized geriatric care for aging animals that cannot be reintroduced into the wild as zoos world over increasingly emphasize lifelong care.<\/p>\n

\u201cSending them back into nature would be an error,\u201d said Pilar Padilla, head of the zoo\u2019s mammal care. \u201cIt is very likely they wouldn\u2019t survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zoos have undergone a rethink in recent decades with the emphasis on the conservation of species and education, moving away from the past paradigm that often displayed exotic animals as a spectacle. <\/p>\n

The new approach includes knowing how to adapt to the needs of aging animals, which has led zoos to create bigger, more nature-like enclosures, such as the Sahel-Savannah area at the zoo in the Spanish city of Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Along with breeding programs to reintroduce fit animals into nature, zoos today want to ensure that animals living longer due to advancements in veterinary care can age gracefully, said Mart\u00edn Zordan, the CEO of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, or WAZA.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecialized geriatric care is becoming increasingly essential,\u201d Zordan told The Associated Press at the organization\u2019s Barcelona offices. <\/p>\n

Zordan said that just like older people, elderly animals require more care: regular health checks, arthritis treatment, softer foods or nutritional supplements, adapted living spaces and monitoring of mental and behavioral health.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An old African elephant named Bully gets the sole of its foot scrubbed from a keeper inside the Barcelona Zoo in Spain, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Hernan Mu\u00f1oz)<\/p>\n

An old African elephant named Bully gets the sole of its foot scrubbed from a keeper inside the Barcelona Zoo in Spain, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Hernan Mu\u00f1oz)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Along with caring for a pair of aging elephants, the Barcelona Zoo is also the home for a 15-year-old wolf, a leopard and a tiger who are both 17, as well as some older birds \u2014 including a flock of senior flamencos. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not alone \u2014 several zoos in the United States, for example, highlight their treatment of older animals, such as the zoos in Baltimore and Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n

A study of grief<\/p>\n

Zookeepers at the Barcelona Zoo, not far from the city\u2019s Mediterranean coastline, are closely monitoring its two aging female pachyderms, Susi and Bully (pronounced BUH’-yi), as they cope with the recent death of Yoyo, their former pen-mate and long-time companion.<\/p>\n

Yoyo died in December at age 54. <\/p>\n

Susi, at 52, is now among the oldest known African elephants in captivity, even though WAZA said the age of animals born in the wild<\/a> is approximate. Bully, who is 40, is also considered old for an African elephant. All three were captured in the wild and spent time in circuses an other zoos before coming to Barcelona. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An old African elephant named Bully stands inside the Barcelona Zoo in, Spain, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Hernan Mu\u00f1oz)<\/p>\n

An old African elephant named Bully stands inside the Barcelona Zoo in, Spain, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Hernan Mu\u00f1oz)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The zoo is now working with the University of Barcelona to study the impact of Yoyo\u2019s death on Susi and Bully. It\u2019s the first study of its kind, focused on elephants not from the same family after the death of a long-time companion, Padilla told The Associated Press during a recent visit to the zoo\u2019s elephant enclosure. <\/p>\n

At first, Susi and Bully showed their shock by not eating, but are now adapting well and turning to one another, including even sharing food, Padilla said, adding that Susi has taken on the dominant role that Yoyo had.<\/p>\n

The proof is in the teeth<\/p>\n

For elephants, their teeth are the real age test. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat marks the decline of the animal is the wear on their teeth,\u201d Barcelona zookeeper Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Santamar\u00eda said after finishing the Bully\u2019s pedicure. \u201cThey go through six sets of molars during their life, and when they reach around 40 years old they lose the last set.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susi and Bully require daily checkups, food suited for their now molar-less mouths and extra attention to their legs \u2014 hence the daily pedicures and the enclosure\u2019s soft sandy floor to cushion aching feet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the sort of considerations taken because we care about these animals living comfortably and leading lives with dignity,\u201d Zordan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BARCELONA, Spain (AP) \u2014 At the Barcelona Zoo, a 40-year-old African elephant places her foot through the metal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[933,10980,199,7029,8616,10670,2000,299,4179,8615,10978,10981,10663,10979,104,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-16188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-assisted-living","10":"tag-barcelona","11":"tag-climate","12":"tag-climate-and-environment","13":"tag-elephants","14":"tag-eu","15":"tag-europe","16":"tag-general-news","17":"tag-international-news","18":"tag-jos-mara-santamara","19":"tag-martn-zordan","20":"tag-pilar-padilla","21":"tag-seniors-health","22":"tag-spain","23":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114330057579063498","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}