Sheila
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Belfast Zoo in United Kingdom

Biography

☨ ♀ Sheila


Identification


Description
Species:	Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Sex and age:	Female ♀ 30 years old
Origin
Born:	* 1933 wild
Birth place:
Death
Dead:	†1963
Death reason:	euthanised: unmanageable due to dermatitis and impacted teeth
Locations - owners
Present / last location:	Belfast Zoo, in United Kingdom

Date of arrival

1941-00-00	Belfast Zoo from Denise Austin

1941-00-00	Denise Austin from Belfast Zoo

Record history
History of updates	2024-08-04

Latest document update	2022-05-05 13:02:31

† Sheila is a dead Female ♀ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), , who died 1963 at Belfast Zoo, in United Kingdom, . Official death reason described as unmanageable due to dermatitis and impacted teeth.

Origin

Sheila was born wild 1933.

Comments / pictures

The baby elephant Sheila dodged the death list in Belfast Zoo and was re-housed by a woman who lived near the zoo and kept her in a back garden. The identity of the adoptive parent is a mystery. She was known only as "the elephant angel".
Who gave a home to elephant Sheila?, 2009-03-23

Denise Austin kept the calf, called Shiela, at her home on the Whitewell Road when Belfast was being bombed in the blitz of 1941. [...] Ms Austin died in 1997.
Baby elephant kept in Belfast backyard is inspiration for book

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2026). Sheila, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Belfast Zoo in United Kingdom. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 17 March 2026 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=4687. (archived at the Wayback machine)