Sophi’s been living at the Indianapolis Zoo since 1989. According to WTHR, she came to Indy from a safari park in Canada back in 1989.
Sophi was considered the matriarch of the herd but unfortunately her care team had to make the difficult decision to euthanize her at the age of 52. There was no direct cause of death given, but she was old and her health had been declining.
The Zoo shared the news and their grief earlier on Twitter.
Our Zoo family is grieving today as we say goodbye to a much-loved friend. Sophi, our 52-year-old African elephant matriarch, has died. She lived a long, wonderful life here. She was a majestic elephant who was loved by our herd, staff, volunteers and generations of Hoosiers. pic.twitter.com/kJnUGUL4yr
— Indianapolis Z🎃🎃 (@IndianapolisZoo) October 8, 2020