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"Golden Girls" Make Official Debut At Zoo Miami

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Zoo Miami is officially introducing two of its newest, and largest, residents Friday, while also unveiling a special donation to commemorate the zoo's commitment to caring for them.

In celebration of "Endangered Species Day," Zoo Miami introduced Cita and Lisa to the public on the African elephant exhibit.

Cita and Lisa are two female African elephants who arrived from the Virginia Zoo in April but have been in quarantine since their arrival.

Having cleared quarantine, Cita and Lisa, are now on display, in an adjoining paddock, next to Peggy and Mabel, Zoo Miami's resident African elephant females. Zoo staff will be working to slowly introduce the elephants to each other with the eventual goal of placing all four together on the same paddock.

These four elephants range in age from 40 to nearly 48 years old.  With an average lifespan of 35 years in captivity, these ladies are well into their golden years and are being affectionately called the "Golden Girls."

Zoo Miami Golden Elephant Statue
(Courtesy: Zoo Miami)

As part of this "Golden Girl" celebration, Zoo Miami is honored to be the recipient of an incredibly generous donation from the TREND Group of a life-size gold mosaic elephant figure valued at $100,000.

This stunning figure took 12 mosaic artists more than a year to create, weighs 2,710 lbs. and measures 7 feet wide, 16 feet high, and 27 feet long.

This one-of-a-kind iconic sculpture will be on permanent display in front of the African elephant exhibit.

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