Fanny (elephant)

Fanny was a female Asian elephant who spent the majority of her life in a small zoo in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Biography

Originally a circus elephant, she was purchased from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1958 by the City of Pawtucket. Fanny spent more than three decades in Pawtucket at the Slater Park Zoo, now called Daggett Farm. While at the Slater Park Zoo, Fanny was housed in a small barn, with only a tiny, barren enclosure in which to walk and was also chained by her back leg.

In 1993, despite the efforts of then Mayor Robert E. Metivier to keep Fanny in Pawtucket, Fanny was rescued by The Fund for Animals and, just after midnight on June 8th 1993, began her 36 hour journey to the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas. While at the ranch, Fanny, renamed Tara, was given something she had not had in decades—elephant companions.

Fanny lived at the Black Beauty ranch until her death in August of 2003. She was 59 years old according to the ranch. Upon learning of her passing, the Providence Journal ran an obituary for Fanny and in 2007 the City of Pawtucket dedicated a fiberglass sculpture to her, which stands within sight of Fanny's barn.

Gallery

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  Fanny at Slater Park
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  Fanny's original bill of sale to the City of Pawtucket, 1958
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  Fanny's now vacant barn & enclosure in Pawtucket, 2009
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  Sculpture of Fanny in Slater Park
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  Fanny sculpture dedication plaque