The oldest known eastern bongo antelope living in captivity has died at Zoo Atlanta.
Zoo President and CEO Dennis Kelly said Tuesday that the 19-year-old animal named Mzima was euthanized after her health declined because of age. The bongo came to the zoo in 2004 from the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.
She was born at the Texas zoo in 1989.
Mzima was the oldest bongo living in an accredited U.S. zoo, and the second-oldest eastern bongo in captivity worldwide. Bongos are among the most endangered animals at the zoo, with just 500 believed to remain in the wild.
The animals are striped with long horns and are native to Africa. The zoo's Web site says the entire wild eastern bongo population now lives in two parks in Kenya.
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