Her life was one of tragedy - born free, ripped from her family, chained and penned, bullied, shuttled from one noisy environment to another, suffering a series of health problems, and finally giving up her life at an early age.

The life story of Misha, the 27-year-old elephant who died last Tuesday at Utah's Hogle Zoo, is a heartbreaking one. The Tribune's Matthew LaPlante tells that story in a first-class reporting job in today's paper.

One of the sad ironies of Misha's life is that after years of poor conditions, she may have finally found a caring environment at Hogle Zoo (where she lived since April 2005). "Misha was always a happy and playful elephant," Holly Braithwaite, Hogle's spokeswoman, told LaPlante. "Misha quickly became close to her keepers ... she was just a good, hard-working, caring animal."

If you don't shed a tear at Misha's story, you're made of stone.

(Photo: Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Labels: Hogle Zoo