When Coco came, Lakhi’s world grew even brighter. Timid and fearful little Coco had been deprived a mother for her entire life, but Lakhi stepped into the role with absolute ease. She never hesitated to seek Coco out when the younger elephant cried, or to stay close by her side out on walks, occasionally enveloping the smaller elephant with her trunk in a safe embrace. As if taking a cue from Asha, Lakhi made sure that Coco always felt safe and loved, and stood protectively over her whenever she lay down for a nap.

With time, Lakhi’s age caught up with her, and she showed signs of slowing down, old injuries got inflamed and she seemed to prefer resting against the mud beds in her enclosure. Late Saturday evening on the 3rd of March, she seemed more weary than usual, and even as her knees buckled under her, Asha and Coco rushed to her side to support her. Asha appeared calm and strong, as if she knew in her own way that this was it – Coco panicked initially, rushing about and running circles around her fallen friend. The team rushed in, the crane was called in to lift her back to her feet and support her – the elephants moved aside and watched, Asha touching them gently as they huddled together. They stood back as the team tried to get her back to her feet, even the younger elephants seemed uncharacteristically calm. Maybe they knew, maybe they realised it was time to let go and had their chance to say their goodbyes, and wanted to let her pass in peace. Lakhi resisted being lifted, as if she too knew her time had come. She let out her final breath and slumped down against the mud bed, eyes shut looking like she was completely at peace. As the team moved away, heartbroken, Asha rumbled loudly from where she was standing, but none of the elephants moved – Coco let out a small wail, and from every enclosure elephants responded softly with rumbles, trumpets and huffs all the way from the bulls to the closerby females like Phoolkali like an orchestra of calm, reassuring solidarity for their fallen friend.

Lakhi leaves behind broken hearts around the world. Asha refused to eat the entire day, refused to budge from the spot on which she last lay. She’s been listless and mournful, albeit quiet – running her trunk through the mud and letting out the most heartbreaking guttural rumbling sounds every few minutes. Ever so often, Coco or Peanut or Suzy will respond. Once in a while another elephant will rumble back. Her keeper stands beside her, talking to her and trying in his own way to comfort her. He hand fed her a bucket of greens last night which she ate slowly and sadly. He talks to her awhile about Lakhi, how beautiful and calm she was, about how incredible their friendship was and how much he misses her too. He tried calling her into the shade, but she remained rooted to spot her friend had passed.

A recent study using satellite data has highlighted the critical role that large herbivores play in promoting tree diversity in forest ecosystems. The research showed that areas with abundant large herbivores like elephants had more varied tree cover and more tree diversity. This finding underscores the importance of large herbivores in many ecosystems and that they should have primary importance in conservation strategies, particularly in the context of global efforts to combat climate change and extinction. Help big herbivores every time you shop and #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife in the supermarket!

African forest elephants roam the dense rainforests of West and Central Africa where they subsist largely on a diet of fruit. They shape forests by dispersing fruit and seeds, browsing, and creating an extensive trail network.

Zonkey är det engelska namnet på den sterila  avkomman av en zebra och en åsna. De känns igen på de randiga benen och huvudet. Namnet är en kombination av engelskans donkey och zebra. Det fanns fyra registrerade zonkeys i Sverige år 2015.[1][2]

Zonkeys in Tijuana, Mexico are donkeys (also known as burros in Mexico and the Southwestern United States; burro is the Spanish word for donkey) painted with fake zebra stripes, so that tourists will pay the owner to appear in souvenir photos with them.[1] They should not be confused with zebroids, zebra hybrids which are also sometimes called zonkeys.

Zebroid (ya da zedonk, zorse, zebra katırı, zonkey, ve zebmule) dişi zebra ile erkek atın  çiftleşmesinden ortaya çıkan melez canlıya verilen isim.

Als Zebroide werden Hybriden innerhalb der Gattung Pferde aus Kreuzungen zwischen einem Zebra und einer anderen Pferdeart  bezeichnet. Aus praktischen Gründen (einfachere Aufzucht) wird dabei als Vater meist ein Zebra verwendet. Wie die meisten Hybriden aus verschiedenen Arten, wie Maultiere und Maulesel, sind auch Zebroide meist nicht fortpflanzungsfähig.

Le zébrule (aussi appelé zorse) est un animal hybride issu du croisement d'un zèbre et d'une jument. Connu depuis la fin du xixe siècle, il est l'objet d'un nouvel engouement en raison de son apparence originale, particulièrement chez les éleveurs américains.

Zorse är det engelska namnet på den sterila  avkomman av en zebrahingst och ett häststo. Färgen är ljusbrun med ränder som hos zebran, manen och svansen är något mörkare. En zorse brukar vara något mellan 120-160 cm.

A zebroid is the offspring of any cross between a zebra and any other equine to create a hybrid. In most cases, the sire is a zebra stallion but not every time. The offspring of a donkey sire and zebra dam, called a donkra, and the offspring of a horse  sire and a zebra dam, called a hebra, do exist, but are rare and are usually sterile. Zebroids have been bred since the 19th century. Charles Darwin noted several zebra hybrids in his works.[1]

Als Bichon (französisch für Schoßhund) werden verschiedene kleine, lang- bis kraushaarige Hunderassen bezeichnet. Die Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) gruppiert diese Rassen in der Gruppe 9, Sektion 1.1.

A bichon is a distinct type of toy dog; it is typically kept as a companion dog. Believed to be descended from the Barbet, it is believed the bichon-type dates to at least the 11th century; it was relatively common in 14th-century France, where they were kept as pets of the royalty and aristocracy.[1][2] From France, these dogs spread throughout the courts of Europe, with dogs of very similar form being seen in a number of portraits of the upper classes of Germany, Portugal and Spain; from Europe, the type also spread to colonies in Africa and South America.[2][3] The name "bichon" is believed to be a contraction of "barbichon", which means "little barbet".[4]

Zuchon or Shichon is a hybrid breed dog or a designer dog. They are a cross between Bichon Frisé and Shih Tzu.[1] Sometimes called the 'Teddy Bear' dog, Zuchons are not yet recognized as a breed by the America Kennel Club (AKC).