LONGTIME LOS ANGELES ZOO ELEPHANT TARA DIES.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Tara, a 7,500-pound African elephant that had lived at the Los Angeles Zoo since 1966, died Tuesday from an unknown cause.

The 40-year-old elephant was lying on her side in her yard when keepers arrived for work at 7 a.m., zoo officials said. She died a short time later.

``The staff was disappointed when she passed,'' Los Angeles Zoo General Manager John Lewis said. ``They worked with her a lot of years.

``She was a great elephant.''

Head elephant keeper Jeff Briscoe reported that Tara had eaten during the night. When zookeepers found her, there were no signs that she was stressed, or had struggled. The ground around Tara was relatively undisturbed.

``Yesterday, she ate well and went about her daily routine normally, so right now I just don't know what happened,'' he said in a statement.

The elephant, which had suffered from arthritis, was taken to an animal health facility for a necropsy.

While some African elephants can live well into their 60s, Lewis said that the average life span of a captive African cow was 33 years; 41 years for a bull.

Tara had lived in an off-exhibit yard or barn next to Ruby, the zoo's other African elephant, which returned to the Los Angeles Zoo on Nov. 13 after a 17-month hiatus at the Knoxville Zoo.

Ruby had been sent to Tennessee for an elephant breeding program, but failed to assimilate with the elephant herd there.

After she returned to Los Angeles, Ruby and Tara had become friends, making ``grumbling'' noises and frequently touching trunks, zoo officials said.

Gretchen Wyler, vice president for the Encino-based Humane Society of the United States, Hollywood, said she saw Tara a month ago and her knees wouldn't bend because of her arthritis.

Wyler said it was now time for the Los Angeles Zoo to reunite Ruby with Gita, a 46-year-old Asian elephant and companion for 16 years.

``Being asleep is better,'' Wyler said of Tara. ``Rest in peace. Now there is no excuse for having Ruby and Gita separated for one more minute.''

Zoo officials say plans call for focusing on Asian elephants and eventually sending Ruby to another zoo. But in the short term, Ruby and Gita will be reunited.

``The plan always has been to put them together,'' Lewis said. ``That's the next thing.''

Tara was born in East Africa in 1965 and was brought to the Los Angeles Zoo in 1966. Though Tara tended to be a loner, she was maternal with some other elephants.

Some animal rights activists Tuesday blamed the zoo for what they say was the premature death of Tara and other elephants.

A retired Los Angeles Zoo veterinarian had accused animal handlers of beating Tara with a bull hook in 1996. A zoo investigation found no wrongdoing.

In 1997, Tara lost about 700 of her 7,500 pounds and collapsed, unable to stand up.

Then in 1999, the tip of Tara's trunk was accidentally severed by the hydraulic doors of her barn.

``I am horrified,'' said Melya Kaplan, executive director of Voice for the Animals, formerly Venice Animal Allies, of Tara's death.

``It is not unexpected; we expected something like this to happen, given the L.A. Zoo's dark history of elephant neglect, abuse and mismanagement.''

Kaplan said the Los Angeles Zoo should follow the lead of zoos in Detroit and San Francisco and send its remaining elephants to sanctuaries. Lewis, however, maintained that the zoo cares for its pachyderms and is building them a new home and exhibit.

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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Tara, a 7,500-pound African elephant that had lived at the Los Angeles Zoo since 1966, died Tuesday.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer