PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Zoo’s beloved patriarch elephant, Packy, is celebrating another birthday: the six-ton senior just turned 53.
Zoo officials say Packy is the oldest male of his species on the North American continent.
The zoo’s elephant curator Bob Lee said Packy has slowed down in old age and the zoo is trying to give him the most comfortable life possible.
Packy’s birthday cake matched the occasion: a 50-pound whole-wheat block, frosted with buttercream and topped with carrots, celery, bananas, apples, pears and sweet potatoes.
In 1962, the zoo says Packy became the first elephant to be born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. He’s one of 22 Asian elephants born at the Oregon Zoo.
Asian elephants are endangered. Experts estimate fewer than 40,000 remain from India to Borneo.
