Elephant Island, Antarctica, is named after the elephant seals that make their home there (as well as for its elephant-like shape). The island is located 150 miles off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands.

Officials made the decision to “humanely” euthanize the 37-year-old elephant. There were no signs that Penny was ailing, according to zoo officials. That was not the case in December of 2016, when another of the zoo's elephants that was suffering from medical issues was euthanized, The State reported.

However, today Laos' wild Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) population is estimated at between 500-1000 individuals, just one-third of the numbers of two decades ago. Threats to the elephant include loss of habitat as a growing human population results in encroachment into the elephant's ancestral home.

The severe decline of forest elephants in Central Africa is largely a result of the unprecedented levels of poaching for the illegal ivory trade in recent years. Historically, African elephants have always been treated as one species, listed on the IUCN Red List as 'Vulnerable'.