Packy (April 14, 1962 – February 9, 2017)
Packy was an Asian elephant at the 64-acre Oregon Zoo located in Portland,
Oregon. He was famous for having been the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest male Asian
elephant in North America. In July 2013, Packy was diagnosed with tuberculosis
and was euthanized today following the veterinarians’ decision that his TB was
was drug resistant.
Colo, the first gorilla to be born in captivity, was born at the Columbus, Ohio
zoo. Rejected at birth by her mother, zookeepers had to hand-raise Colo
much like a human child, by dressing her in clothes and giving her bottle of
formula. At the age of two years old,she was introduced to a 19-month-old
male from Africa called Bongo. The couple had three offspring, the first
on February 1, 1968, Emmy, a female, Oscar, born July 18, 1969, and
Toni, on December 28, 1971.
Colo is now the oldest living gorilla in captivity, following the death of 55-year-
old Jenny in September 2008.
Photo taken during Colo’s 58th birthday party.
The Oregon Zoo, formerly the Washington Park Zoo is located in the
city of Portland. It opened in 1888 after a private animal collector
named Richard Knight donated his animals. It is the oldest North
American zoo west of the Mississippi.
By 1894, there were over 300 animals in the zoo’s collection. In
1925, the zoo moved to the site of the present Portland Japanese
Garden, still within Washington Park. Its current site opened on
July 3, 1959.
Rosy the Asian elephant was acquired by the zoo in 1953.
Original run on CBS: January 6, 1963 – 1971.
The program was syndicated from 1971 to 1988, and was revived in 2002. The
show’s second incarnation currently airs on Animal Planet.
Perkins was host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom from 1963 to 1985. He
was also director of the New York Zoo in Buffalo, N.Y., the Lincoln Park Zoo
in Chicago and the St. Louis Zoo. He died in 1986 at age 81.
April 15, 1962
Mother Belle with baby Packy
Portland’s Asian elephant Packy is the first elephant to be born in the
Western Hemisphere and is the tallest and oldest male in the U.S. His
mother, Belle, came from Thailand and died, April 22, 1997 and his
father was Thonglaw, he was born in Cambodia and died November
25, 1974.
Packy’s first birthday party
