Oldest female elephant Sakura at a zoo in South Korea (Seoul Grand Park)

The oldest female elephant in South Korea passed away Tuesday at a zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, at the age of 59, zoo officials said Thursday.

The female elephant, named Sakura, had suffered from deteriorating health since November last year, primarily caused by ascites and subcutaneous edema. Born in February 1965 in Thailand, she was in her 90s in human years.

Sakura spent her early years as a circus performer at a Japanese amusement park, Takarazuka Family Land, from when she was 7 months old until the park closed in 2003. Following the closure, she relocated to the zoo at Seoul Grand Park.

Initially lacking in social skills, she had lived as a lone elephant. Yet, in 2018, thanks to persistent efforts by zookeepers, she began cohabitating with a group of three other elephants, zoo officials said. The zookeepers expressed their intention to support the mental well-being of the other elephants following Sakura's death.

Sakura was the subject of a children's book titled “Elephant Sakura,” written by Korean-Japanese author Kim Hwang in 2007. The book chronicles Sakura's journey to South Korea and provides a historical background on South Korea-Japan relations in regard to elephants. It won the Best Book award at the first Creative and Non-fiction Writing Contest for Children held by the Japan Children’s Writer Association.

The oldest elephant prior to Sakura was a 58-year-old male named Giant, who passed away in 2009.

Oldest female elephant Sakura at a zoo in South Korea (Seoul Grand Park)