Cuddles was euthanised Wednesday morning, after suffering with severe digestive problems.

Cuddles, believed to be about 46-years-old, was one of the original inhabitants at Dubbo zoo when it opened in 1977.

She came from Longleat Safari Park in the UK with three other African Elephants: Yum Yum, Cheri and David. The four travelled to Australia on a cruise ship and arrived in Sydney in October, where they were quarantined at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, before moving to Dubbo.

It was a sad day for Taronga Western Plains Zoo’s keepers, and the veterinary team, Mr Fuller said.

However, with the focus of Australian and New Zealand zoos now turning to Asian elephants, it was also the start of a new movement, he said.

Taronga Conservation Society Australia executive director Cameron Kerr said while the zoo was no longer focused on African elephants, there were still numerous organisations receiving the organisation’s support such as the Northern Rangelands Trust in Kenya.

“We are working very focused on the Asian elephant here because it’s part of our region and there’s well less than 50,000 of them left; There’s about 300,000 African elephants,” Mr Kerr said.

“At the same time there a long lived animal, they have a long gestation period and a slow cycle, and we know that there are days of the week where there’s an elephant being poached every 20 minutes, so it is an absolute crisis across the African continent now.”

While African elephant breeding program had finished Mr Kerr said it wasn’t to say there would never be African elephants back in Dubbo.

Mr Fuller said Cuddles was a grand old girl, and unfortunately she had gotten to the stage in life when problems like arthritis had arisen.

”I’ve had many amazing experiences with Cuddles, she’s a very special girl, as has every person who is part of Taronga Western Plains Zoo. There are so many close connections with Cuddles and I’m sure everybody has got a story they can remember about the special time she’s spent with us.”