Early Life
Ruby was born in Thailand, probably in the summer of 1973, and was shipped to the Phoenix Zoo in February 1974 when she was about seven months old. Initially, she lived with a goat and some chickens for a few years without any elephant companionship. Her painting career began when her keepers saw her scratching in the dirt of her enclosure with a stick, and offered her a brush and paints.
In time, she was moved into the main enclosure with the zoo's two other elephants, both African. African and Asian Elephants are of different species, and Ruby did not get along with the other two. Zoo officials decided to breed her, to provide her with companionship.
Read more about this topic: Ruby (elephant)
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