New Bedford’s Ruth the Elephant is Very Sick

One of the Buttonwood Park Zoo's biggest residents is sick.

For several days, Ruth the Elephant has been dealing with gastrointestinal difficulties.

BP Zoo Director Keith Lovett tells WBSM News at this point, Ruth isn't eating anything. "It's probably not the worst thing in the world because you really don't want her to be continuously eating food and backing up the system, if you will," said Lovett. "So one of the biggest things we need to make sure of is that we're keeping her incredibly hydrated because of her lack of food consumption."

Lovett says Ruth is on an IV, and there's a team of veterinarians, including an elephant specialist, monitoring and treating Ruth around the clock.

Lovett says as of this morning, Ruth was looking more spry than she had over the past few days.

At 58 years old, Ruth is the third oldest Asian elephant in captivity in the country.