A beloved 24-year-old American bison at Brookfield Zoo Chicago has been euthanized — shortly after she received a ceremonial Native American blessing.
The bison, named Judy, was considered elderly and exhibited signs of arthritis and weight loss. The zoo’s veterinary and animal care team had been closely monitoring and treating Judy to alleviate pain.
Judy was euthanized on Tuesday.
But first, the Midwest SOARRING Foundation, a local nonprofit whose members represent many indigenous tribes, performed a ceremonial blessing on Judy, reflecting the importance of bison in North America and the need to respect and preserve the animals.
American bison offer a powerful symbol of survival, hope and endurance for Native American communities, and in keeping with the sacred nature of the animal, the blessing on Judy was done by Joseph Standing Bear, Schranz who also participated in blessing Brookfield’s Great Bear Wilderness exhibit, where Judy lived.
Joseph Standing Bear Schranz, president of Midwest SOARRING Foundation, came to Brookfield Zoo Chicago on Monday to perform a ceremonial blessing for Judy, a 24-year-old American bison.
Lisa Miller/Brookfield Zoo
“It was a wonderful opportunity to bring [Judy’s] time with us here full circle and to honor our partnership with Midwest SOARRING Foundation through that prayer and blessing,” said Jennifer Baader, the zoo’s senior vice president of government affairs and community programming.
Brookfield has procedures in place to ensure its older animals receive proper care, zoo officials said.
“We do things like weigh them more frequently, do more veterinary checks and keep a close eye on them,” said Joan Daniels, the zoo’s associate vice president of animal care and conservation. “We’ve tried pain management for her, as you would do with someone who’s aging, but noticed that she continued to look uncomfortable.”
With the decline in Judy’s health, the zoo care staff decided it would be best to humanely euthanize her as the staff could no longer take steps to maintain her quality of life.
Judy arrived at Brookfield Zoo in 2001. In 2010, she and other members of her herd were moved to the zoo’s Great Bear Wilderness. Judy was described as having a big personality and was one of the friendlier bison.
Judy “would come over and interact with them and would allow visitors to see her up close,” Daniels said. “She was quite a friendly animal, and the keeper staff were very much attached to her.”
Brookfield officials expect Judy to be mourned by staff and visitors alike.
“I expect there will be an outpouring of condolences to our care staff who often receive handwritten cards from visitors that come regularly,” Daniels said. “I would imagine we will not only have condolences from our zoo guests, but internally for all of us who worked with Judy.”