Remains of Woodland Park Zoo elephant to be donated, cremated
Aug 26, 2014, 1:17 PM | Updated: 1:53 pm
A 45-year-old African elephant that died after falling ill at the Woodland Park Zoo will be cremated.
Watoto, who had lived at the zoo since 1971, was euthanized on Friday.
A zoo spokesperson said pathologists are conducting a necropsy on the animal and collecting tissue samples.
The Burke Museum in Seattle will take some of Watoto’s skeletal remains for research.
“Zoo staff and veterinarians can gather additional information about an animal’s life and health once the remains are prepared as museum specimens,” the museum said in a statement. “The specimens also help educate the public about these animals and their conservation needs.”
The Burke partnered with the Woodland Park Zoo in 1913 to collect remains of deceased animals for the museum’s collections.
Watoto’s cremation will take place at an off-site location and will be conducted by an organization the zoo has worked with in the past, according to a spokesperson.
