Packy's TB Tests Oregon Zoo's Longtime Elephant Keeper

"We lose the ones we love," Bob Lee, longtime elephant curator at the Oregon Zoo as he continues to come to grips that Packy - the zoo's beloved elephant's tuberculosis has returned. And there may be nothing that they can do.

"We are making the most of it. Making sure that each day for him is the best that it can be."

Packy is 54-years-old. Not only is he the oldest elephant at the zoo, he is the oldest Asian elephant in North America and one of the one oldest in the world.

"You look at old he is and you realize that every day with him is a gift," says Lee, who came to the Oregon Zoo from Kansas in 1999.

"You can be tired, dragging, and come in in the morning and he looks at you with big eyes, There is not a cup of coffee in the world that will motivate you like he does."

Lee and other zoo officials have been meeting with veterinary and drug experts from around the country trying to figure out what to do next. Not a lot is known about how tuberculosis affects elephants so each development is a learning experience for Lee and the veterinary staff.

Packy was one of three elephants at the zoo to be diagnosed with tuberculosis. For a couple of years, medication seemed to be working than in September a test revealed it had returned. And this time tests showed that medication would not help treat the tuberculosis.

"I can't imagine a day when Packy is not here," Lee says.

It would be almost impossible to overstate not only what Packy has meant to the Oregon Zoo but for the understanding and care of elephants around the world.

When Packy was born at the zoo in 1962, he was the first elephant born in North American zoo in 44 years. It was an event that galvanized the area and brought attention from the world over.

"There is a passion about Packy here that has extended to all of the elephants here," Lee says. "From Packy to Samudra and Lilly, people here love their elephants."

The return of the TB also makes things harder for Packy. He is not allowed to be near the other elephants. He is now allowed within 100 feet of visitors to the zoo. His final days - and no one knows how many; it could be days or, if they are lucky, months or longer - will be on the lonely side for perhaps the most famous elephant in the country.

And as hard as it will be to say goodbye, Lee knows that day will come.

"For now, the key is to make sure that we are doing everything we can for him," Lee says. "We let Packy make the decisions on what he wants to do, what he can do. And that's how we judge. We want him to be wanting to do things and able to do things. Without being in pain."

Packy's daily routine involves opportunities for exercise and stretching, for playing with logs, dips in the pool.

"He's a grandfather," Lee says. "And like most grandfathers his age, he has his share of issues, arthritis and so forth."

Lee says that what they are doing now is just paying attention to the signs they get from him, letting him guide them and teach them, as he has so often.

"For Packy's life here he has taught us so much," Lee says. "There is so much that we didn't know that we have learned from them. And that has helped us help them and helped other institutions care for their elephants."

Whatever happens, happens, Lee says.

"Our focus is really just making sure he enjoys his days and is as comfortable as possible."

Photos Oregon Zoo - 1st is Bob Lee with Rose-Tu, second one is Packy