Elephant Died of Cardiac Failure

Two months after the unexpected death of the Los Angeles Zoo’s female Asian elephant, a necropsy concluded Wednesday that Gita died of cardiac failure associated with blood clots.

However, veterinary pathologists could not determine why she became lame and went into a down position in her enclosure. Nor could they say whether the hours that passed before she was discovered in the prone position and the time she received medical treatment contributed to her death.

“Unfortunately, the necropsy cannot explain definitively why Gita collapsed, although it may have been caused by a combination of the generalized body weakness related to the blood clots in her system,” zoo Director John Lewis said in a letter Wednesday to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, explaining the findings.

The necropsy, conducted by a private lab in San Bernardino associated with UC Davis, said blood clots blocked the right chamber and major vessels of the elephant’s heart. Clotting began three to five days before her death and was caused by a coagulation disorder, the pathologists said.

After she fell, Gita’s weight damaged her rear legs and she could no longer lift herself.

The 48-year-old elephant was found in her enclosure with her back legs tucked under her and her front legs outstretched about 5 a.m. June 10. The 8,000-pound animal died at 9:40 a.m. after toxins from her muscles flooded her system and caused vascular distress, zoo officials said.

According to reports, Gita had been spotted down the night before by a security guard. The guard informed the night keeper, who failed to report it. The night keeper has since resigned, and Lewis said new measures have been established to keep such a lapse from recurring.

The necropsy comes at a time of intense debate over whether zoos in general and the Los Angeles Zoo in particular should continue to keep elephants at all. Gita, especially, was bedeviled by arthritis and chronic foot infections.

She underwent surgery last fall to remove diseased bone in her left front foot.

But the zoo’s own medical records of Gita from the two months before her illness indicate that she was battling other ailments and infections elsewhere in her body.

The L.A. Zoo’s ambitious plans for a new multimillion-dollar elephant exhibit were put on hold last year while the mayor -- fulfilling a campaign promise to animal rights activists -- commissioned a study on whether the zoo should go forward with the project.

The report, released late last year, concluded that the zoo should continue but plan for an even bigger exhibit, which has helped boost the price tag to $39 million.

Times staff writer Carla Hall contributed to this report.