Tembo dies after 50 years at Topeka Zoo, Cameron Park Zoo shifts

Tembo died on May 16, 2026 after 50 of her 56 years at the cameron park zoo. The Topeka Zoo is now transitioning away from housing elephants, ending a program built around the African elephant’s long life there.

Tembo had spent much of that time in a cramped, barren enclosure with little to do for years on end, according to In Defense of Animals. Her only respite came through a four-decade friendship with Sunda, who died in 2018, and later Cora, who died last October.

Topeka Zoo elephant exhibit

The zoo’s shift means it will no longer have elephants. That follows a yearslong history in which Tembo, captured on the African savanna and shipped across the world, lived at the facility for most of her life.

In Defense of Animals had featured the Topeka Zoo nine times on its list of 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants. With Tembo’s death, the zoo became the 41st North American zoo to close its elephant exhibit.

Tembo, Sunda and Cora

Tembo was an African elephant. Sunda and Cora were Asian elephants, and the companionship among the three shaped the zoo’s elephant program for decades.

For visitors and anyone tracking the facility’s animal program, the immediate change is straightforward: elephants will not return there. The exhibit that defined Tembo’s life is ending with her death, and the zoo is moving away from keeping elephants altogether.