December 28, 2016 - 9:55 AM
MEXICO CITY - A 26-year-old elephant has died at a zoo outside the Mexican capital and authorities are investigating to make sure negligence was not a factor.
The Asian elephant known as Benny passed away Christmas Day at the Ehecatl Ecological Park in Ecatepec, in the State of Mexico.
The federal environmental protection agency said Wednesday in a statement that he died of a kidney ailment whose cause is not yet known.
Benny arrived at the zoo in 2014 and was coupled with a female elephant named Bireky in hopes they would reproduce.
The more than 9,000-pound (4,200-kilogram) animal was buried on park grounds.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016