Young elephant dies at Seoul Grand Park

A beloved 14-year-old elephant at Seoul Grand Park has died of unknown causes.

Zoo officials said Monday that the Asian elephant named Gazaba died suddenly at around 7 p.m. on Sunday. It was the only male elephant at the zoo.

Born in 2004 in Sri Lanka, Gazaba was brought to the zoo with Sugela (female, born in 2004) in 2010. Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa reportedly gave the two as a token of gratitude to pastor Kim Hae-sung, who offered to help him and other Sri Lankans about 20 years ago when they were in Korea as foreign workers.

Eventually, Kim donated the elephants to the zoo.

According to the officials, Gazaba became sensitive and aggressive toward other elephants in late June as his mating season approached.

The officials said they were still looking into samples of Gazaba's organs to determine the cause of death.

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