N. America's oldest Asian elephant dies

VALLEJO, Calif. -- North America's oldest Asian elephant has died at a Northern California theme park at the age of 71.

The average life expectancy for Asian elephants is 44.8 years.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on Tuesday announced the death of Taj, who had lived at the Vallejo park for 33 years.

The elephant was one of Discovery Kingdom's most popular attractions. Her tricks included stacking logs and playing tug-of-war with guests. The park retired her three years ago.

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The cutest baby elephant

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A wildlife cameraman took pictures of the calf when he spotted it among a herd of about 80 elephants in the Okavango Delta.

Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants.

They are unsure of its chances of long-term survival - the blazing African sunlight may cause blindness and skin problems for the calf.

Mike Holding, who spotted the baby while filming for a BBC wildlife programme, said: "We only saw it for a couple of minutes as the herd crossed the river.

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Photo credit: Jan Anninga/EPA

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