Ailing, 53-year-old female elephant euthanized at Los Angeles Zoo

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 53-year-old Asian elephant has been euthanized at the Los Angeles Zoo after she was unable to stand up. The zoo says Shaunzi, one of two female elephants at the zoo, went down in the yard of her exhibit space and was discovered unable to stand on Tuesday night. She was euthanized the next day after efforts to help her failed, according to a zoo statement that calls the decision “heartbreaking.” Shaunzi was born in Thailand, spent her youth in a circus, came to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo in 1983 and was sent to the Los Angeles Zoo in 2017. The zoo statement calls Shaunzi “an ambassador for her species.” Asian elephants are considered endangered because of poaching and habitat destruction. Only about 40,000 remain in the wild.