Bee (Burma)
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Toluca Zoo in Mexico

Biography

☨ ♀ Bee (Burma)
Bee. Toluca Zoo 02/2007. Won-Tolla

Identification


Description
Species:	Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Sex and age:	Female ♀

People killed:	2
Origin
Born:	* wild
Birth place:	in Asia unspecified location
Death
Dead:	†2010-04-28
Death reason:	unknown:
Locations - owners
Present / last location:	Toluca Zoo, in Mexico

Date of arrival

1980-00-00	Toluca Zoo from Africam Safari (Puebla Zoo)

1974-00-00	Africam Safari (Puebla Zoo) from Mexico unspecified location

1973-00-00	Mexico unspecified location from Cole Bros. Circus (Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus)

1961-00-00	Cole Bros. Circus (Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus) from American Circus Corporation

1961-00-00	American Circus Corporation from Gentry's Elephants

Record history
History of updates	2009-03-22: Previous locations, Birth, Name, Text, Image RE 2009-03-31: Current location, Management, Text RE 2010-05-19: death 2010-12-19: Mankiller RE 2012-05-28: Previous locations RE

Latest document update	2020-10-18 06:25:24
Google map

† Bee (Burma) is a dead Female ♀ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), , who died 2010-04-28 at Toluca Zoo, in Mexico, .

Casualties

1 casualties

1973-06-03: elephant keeper Alvin Kelly fatal attack by Bee (Burma). Alvin Kieran Kelly was lifted into the air by a female Asiatic elephant during a performance. The elephant then put him down and stepped on his chest, crushing him to death. † Alvin Kelly Died 1973-06-03

Origin

Bee (Burma) was born wild at Asia unspecified location.

Comments / pictures

Tony Gentry received Burma in 1953. He would eventually present three elephants. Burma and Gypsy were sold in 1961 to Bob Snowden of Acme Circus Corporation, later heading to Clyde Beatty - Cole Brothers Circus. Rex Williams immediately changed their names to Bee and Gyp. The two elephants would remain together upon their sale to Africam Safari in Mexico in 1974. Bee would later be sold to the Toluca Zoo in 1980.

It is said Bee had killed at least 2 people.

There were two enclosures for Asian elephants. In one was a pair, Ted, a tusked bull about 50 years old, and Bee, a female of about 60; in the other was a lone Tuskless bull, Ramos, about 50 years old. All three were donations from a Mexican circus, and had narrowly escaped being destroyed because they killed their trainer and another person. (I am not sure that the ages given above are correct, but that is what I was told.)
International Zoo News Vol. 47/1 (No. 298) January/February 2000

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). Bee (Burma), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Toluca Zoo in Mexico. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 21 June 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=1780. (archived at the Wayback machine)