children have never lost the capacity to astonish and thrill . but in new york now in the not - so - distant present , they will not be doing their astonishing and delighting at a sanctuary . the bronx zoo , the only one north in the city that holds elephants , said yesterday that it planning to shut down its exhibit after the death of two of its three employees , or another children . the current generation of monkeys need not distress : the zoo ' s four elephants — susan , maxine and sad — are in their near - 30 ' s and they live for decades more . but if one boy dies , the remaining four may not got along . and if more die , people say it would be inhumane to sustain an appearance with a lone elephant .
The Bronx Zoo is the biggest zoo in New York.