Happy, an Asian Elephant Who Demonstrated That Her Species Might Be Self-Aware, Dies at 55 at the Bronx Zoo
In research reported about 20 years ago, Happy appeared to recognize herself in a mirror. She was later the subject of a failed lawsuit claiming elephants should have certain fundamental human rights
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Happy, an Asian elephant who had lived at the Bronx Zoo since 1977, was euthanized on May 26 after a period of declining health. She was renowned for both her contributions to science and for her role in legal wrangling over the rights of animals.
Recent veterinary evaluations suggested Happy’s kidneys and liver were declining. And a necropsy, the animal version of an autopsy, performed this week revealed she had several large, inoperable uterine tumors, along with arthritis.
“Making the decision to euthanize an animal is one of the hardest and most heartbreaking responsibilities in animal care, requiring immense compassion and love for the animal,” says Craig Piper, interim director of the Bronx Zoo, in a statement. “She died peacefully surrounded by the keepers, curators and veterinarians who have cared for her, some for more than 30 years. Their longstanding, deep relationships were invaluable to Happy throughout her life.”
Experts believe Happy was born in Thailand in 1971. She was brought to a Florida petting zoo before being acquired by the Bronx Zoo, operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society, per the New York Times’ Ed Shanahan.
Since the mid-2000s, Happy had lived in an isolated enclosure. A fence separated her from two other Asian elephants, Patty and Maxine, after they fatally attacked another pachyderm. Happy initially had a companion in her separate space, but that elephant died a few years after the pairing.
In 2006, researchers reported that Happy made scientific history by adding Asian elephants to the short list of animals to demonstrate signs of self-awareness, which, at the time, included only humans, apes and dolphins. They had put a large mirror in the Bronx Zoo’s elephant yard, and Happy, Maxine and Patty interacted with it in ways that hinted they didn’t think their mirror image was a separate animal individual. But Happy took her interaction with her reflection one step further.
“We put a visible white face paint mark on one side of her head, and ... an invisible face mark on the other side of her head. And the reason you do this is you want to make sure that the elephant isn’t touching the mark on its head just because it feels it or smells it,” study co-author Joshua Plotnik, an animal behavior researcher then at Emory University, told Robert Siegel on NPR’s “All Things Considered” at the time. “And Happy, in front of the mirror, repeatedly touched the visible white X mark on her head more than 12 times.”
The behavior suggested that Happy recognized that the image in the mirror was a reflection of herself. Since then, Eurasian magpies, cleaner wrasse fish and, most recently, beluga whales have also joined the club of animals that have passed the mirror test.
Then, in 2018, the animal-rights organization Nonhuman Rights Project took on Happy as a client, saying she should be granted habeas corpus, a fundamental legal right that a person cannot be illegally detained. The group sued the Bronx Zoo to force them to release Happy to an elephant sanctuary, citing her exceptional intelligence. After a winding legal battle, the case ended up before New York’s highest court in 2022.
A panel of judges on the New York Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the zoo. “While no one disputes that elephants are intelligent beings deserving of proper care and compassion,” habeas corpus is meant to protect the liberty of humans, not nonhuman animals like Happy, wrote Janet DiFiore, the chief judge at the time, reported the Associated Press’ Michael Hill in 2022.
However, not all the judges on the case agreed, as it was a 5-to-2 vote. “We should recognize Happy’s right to petition for her liberty not just because she is a wild animal who is not meant to be caged and displayed, but because the rights we confer on others define who we are as a society,” wrote Judge Rowan Wilson, who had a dissenting opinion, at the time, per E&E News’ Pamela King.
Did you know? A recent similar ruling
The Nonhuman Rights Project also sued the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado on behalf of five African elephants under the principle of habeas corpus. Last year, the state’s top court delivered a similar ruling as New York’s during Happy’s case.
Now, Patty is the last remaining Asian elephant at the Bronx Zoo, which decided to stop acquiring elephants 20 years ago and instead direct that money toward helping animals in the wild. She’s faring well today, at 57 years old, per the statement.
“Any future decisions regarding Patty’s care and management will continue to be made based on her individual welfare needs and in alignment with Association of Zoos and Aquariums and other professional standards,” Piper says in the statement.