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“Also posing a medical concern to the zoo: the status of Maude, an Asian elephant unable to move her bowels.” — an actual sentence in a Miami Herald story that comes with the partial headlines “elephant severely constipated.”
Indeed, we have at least three different local news stories covering this pressing elephant poop issue (and now we guess we’ve made it four).
“After consulting with some of the top veterinary experts around the country, the veterinary staff is working very closely with the elephant department keepers in trying to get Maude to pass this impaction through a variety of treatments including enemas, mineral oil, wheat bran, soft/wet browse, and electrolyte rich fluids,” adds CBS Miami.
“She has displayed symptoms of having a severe impaction in her digestive tract which has resulted in no bowel movements and an almost total loss of appetite,” Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill says in a press release picked up by NBC Miami.
Perhaps, though, we should tell you a bit more about Maude before detailing her pooping problems. She’s a 40-year-old Asian elephant who came to Zoo Miami in 2011 after spending time at the Central Florida Zoo. She also suffers from arthritis.
We do sincerely hope that Maude fully recovers from her issues.
We should add a bummer alert: all three stories chronicle Maude’s intestinal issues after detailing the sadder news of the death of a three-month-old lion cub at the zoo.
Send your story tips to the author, Kyle Munzenrieder.
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