Elephant named ‘Kamala’ dies at zoo days before the election – sparking ‘bad omen’ comments online
An elephant named “Kamala” has died at a zoo just days before the presidential election – leading social media users to claim it’s a “bad omen” for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.
Kamala the elephant, who was living at The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington DC, had “irreversibly declined” in health, forcing keepers to euthanize her on Friday, the zoo said in a press release on Saturday.
When she first arrived at the zoo in 2014, keepers had noticed her “knock-kneed” front legs and back legs which “bowed out” at the sides, leading to her undergoing “a decade” of treatment for osteoarthritis, the zoo said.
But her condition did not hamper her spirit, with zookeepers describing the elephant as “a smart and inquisitive individual who held a dominant role within the herd” and was able to build “strong bonds” with staff.
News of the elephant’s death spread on social media, with some calling it a “bad omen” for Harris in the race against Donald Trump.
One X user posted on Sunday: “[H]old up..there’s a dead elephant..named Kamala…that was just euthanized yesterday, 2 days before the election…???”
Another social media user replied to a post shared by Elon Musk, writing: “Lol Elon there’s an elephant that’s been euthanized called Kamala (crying emoji)…Rip Kamala”
“When you know your time is damn near up ! An Omen? The National Zoo Just Euthanized ‘Kamala’ the Elephant,” added another.
The interest surrounding the elephant’s passing comes as Moo Deng, the viral baby pygmy hippo from Thailand, shared her prediction for the winner of the presidential race on Tuesday.
Deng, when given the choice of two watermelon cakes with the two presidential candidates names on by her zookeepers, opted to eat the “Trump” fruit cake.
This comes as voters are heading to the polls to cast their votes for either Harris or Trump, with the latest polls showing the two candidates neck-and-neck.
