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Nika Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at Estepona Selwo safari park in Spain Biography
† Nika is a dead Female ♀ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) , , who died 1999-12-01 at Estepona Selwo safari park , in Spain , . Official death reason described as intoxication from branches?.
Affiliated people
1 : Dan Koehl (head-keeper from 1986 to 1992)
Origin
Nika was born wild 1958 at Assam unspecified forest , captured 1960 , captured at Assam, India. and imported 1960 by Firma Carl Hagenbeck , Possibly shipped together with two other elephants from Calcutta in India to Bremerhafen in Germany
Comments / pictures
Nika and elephant keeper Mats Berg
after morning walk in the Stockholm Zoo Skansen, 1971. Photo: Erland Axel Wadsten.
Nika was born 1958 in Assam, India, and came to Skansen Zoo in Stockholm, from Hagenbecks in Hamburg in 1960. She was officially called Gobi.
It is possible that she came with ship from Calcutta to Bremerhafen in 1960, together with Shöpfi in Dresden Zoo
Due to an accident 1969, when she fell down with the right hindleg in a whole in stable used to bring out manure, she suffered from scholiosis, making her right leg shorter, why she was limping a little bit.
Bambina was alone a couple of years, Fatima was bought in 1951, Nika 1960m and Noi in 1967, after Bambina died. Fatima was sold to Ahlborg Zoo in Denmark, and Noi was sent to Copenhagen for cover in 1980, why Nika was single elephant from 1980 until 1984 when Shiva arrived from Circus Sariola in Finland. Nika became very dependant on her keepers during those years, and her social behaviour was fairly focused on soclai relationship with the staff. Every morning after keepers arrived, she wanted to stand and just greet the keeper, asking them by pulling them them close to her ear, to rumble into the ear on close distance.
Rumbling is of course one of the more common sounds between elephants, but not many keepers has used this way of communicating with their elephants, in order to strengthen the bonding.
Nika and Dan Koehl
at Skansen in Stockholm 1988. Photo: Carina Gerken.
Nika on elephant-news.com Nika is mentioned on Elephant News:
Reference list References Koehl, Dan, (2025). Nika, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Estepona Selwo safari park in Spain . Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 17 February 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=59 . (archived at the Wayback machine )Sources used for this article is among others: Dan Koehl
Erland Axel Wadsten
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Nika mentioned on our sister website www.elephant-news.com
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Categories 1999 deaths | 1958 births | Born in India | EEP | 1960 captures | 1960 imports | Elephants from Estepona Selwo safari park | Spain | Asian elephants
About this document This document was updated: 2021-12-23 09:16:23 with valid HTML5