Honoring Cita

Each and every one of the animal residents at Zoo Miami is truly cared for and appreciated. We take great pride in the work of our animal care staff, who works closely with our animals, even forming special bonds with them. Of course, just as we celebrate all of the different forms of life that we witness here, we must also accept the losses that complete the circle of life. The attachments we form to our animals make this extremely difficult at times, but we take these moments as an opportunity to honor them.

It is with great sadness that we said goodbye to “Cita,” a nearly 51-year-old female African elephant, on February 22, 2019. She died that evening after having a confrontation with “Peggy”, another African elephant, in which she was knocked down and unable to recover. Cita went through an extensive necropsy to help determine the cause of her death. At the time of the tests, there were indications that a blood clot may have contributed, though some of the test results are not yet known.

Cita arrived at Zoo Miami on April 19, 2016 from the Virginia Zoo, along with another female elephant named “Lisa. “ They joined our resident African elephants Peggy and Mabel and the new herd was affectionately nicknamed “The Golden Girls” due to their age, as they were all over 40 years old. Lisa has since died of a mesenteric torsion - a twisting of t he intestines around the mesenteric axis - in August 2017.

Cita’s passing is a very difficult time for the Zoo Miami family, and the Virginia Zoo family, where Cita spent decades of her life. We honor and remember her with love and respect.