Ramat Gan Safari bids farewell to Bahati, iconic 65-year-old elephant

One of the oldest recorded female African elephants in the world, she bore five calves and boasts a lineage of 52 elephants across European zoos

The Ramat Gan Safari in central Israel has bid farewell to an icon, the elephant Bahati, who has died at 65, and was one of the oldest recorded female African elephants in the world.

Born in 1961 in a nature reserve in Tanzania and transferred to another zoo before reaching the safari, she became the maternal leader of the herd after the death of her predecessor, Atari, carrying out her role with intelligence, nobility, and sensitivity, according to safari staff.

Her keepers said she had a captivating personality and loved to play, especially with tires she was given for enrichment.

During her long life, Bahati bore five offspring. With 52 descendants, she made a great contribution to the European zoo breeding nucleus.

Her first calf, Yossi, was the first elephant born in Israel. He grew up to be one of the largest elephants in any zoo in the world and is a key contributor to Bahati’s lineage.

The safari said Bahati’s venerable age was a badge of honor for the team of veterinarians and keepers who had looked after her and attended to her every need for decades.

As she aged, she was provided with soft bedding to protect her feet, ground-up food to make eating easier, and exercise to maintain her vitality.

The Ramat Gan Municipality has made her an honorary senior citizen with a special ceremony and a certificate.

In the end, and with heavy hearts, the safari put Bahati down to preserve her dignity and save her from suffering due to total wear of her cartilage, which made walking difficult.

The safari said her presence was not only critical to the breeding nucleus of African elephants, but also to raising awareness of the severe threat of extinction facing elephants in the wild due to illegal hunting, habitat loss, and the illegal ivory trade.

Between 1964 and 2016, the population of African savanna elephants declined by 70 percent, with the forest elephant population nosediving by 90% according to research.