The emergency services were tasked with trying to lift the 28-year-old female elephant, who resides with the Brazil Jack circus in Malmö in southern Sweden.
But when attempts to save the animal failed on Wednesday afternoon veterinarians in attendance were given no choice but to put an end to her suffering.
An elephant can not lie down for extended periods as it hampers blood circulation.
The 28-year-old’s sit down protest began already on Tuesday.
Veterinarians had examined the sickly elephant but were not able to determine why she was refusing to stand up.
The elephant is reported to have been suffering from illness for an extended period of time.
The emergency services deployed a crane to try to lift the 3.5 tonne animal on Wednesday afternoon, but to no avail. A new attempt was then made with a more powerful crane.
Please whitelist us to continue reading.