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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Zoo says the oldest African elephant in North America has died at the age of 56.
Tyranza was the longtime matriarch of the elephant herd at the Memphis Zoo. She was put on hospice care and was euthanized Friday after her health dramatically declined.
The zoo says Tyranza was born in the wild in 1964. She did a short stint as a circus elephant with the Ringling Brothers before retiring to the Memphis Zoo in 1977 when she was 12.
The zoo says people who want to pay their respects to Tyranza can leave cards and flowers at the elephant statue on the zoo’s front plaza.
