Dead Celebrity Alert

Cielo — a member of San Jose’s celebrity falcon family whose birth, along with her siblings, created a bird lovers’ reality show — has died. She was 2 months old.

The peregrine falcon, who had been living on a ledge at San Jose City Hall, had been recently learning to fly. She most likely suffered a clumsy landing and crashed into the building. She was found bruised and dehydrated Monday morning, and died late Monday night or early Tuesday. …

Cielo’s siblings, Meyye and Mercury, are still alive. Her sister and brother are flying about, and are expected to leave the nest for good sometime this summer.

The family has drawn widespread interest from falcon watchers from Silicon Valley, Europe and beyond. With Web cams and the Internet, they frequently peer into these once-endangered birds’ lives, watching them sleeping, eating dead pigeon meat, and in the last few weeks, learning to fledge, as flying is called. … Read full story

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The oldest African elephant in an American zoo has died.

Petal, who was 52 and lived most of her life at the Philadelphia Zoo, was found lying in her stall by workers Monday morning. She usually slept standing up.

The elephant had been in excellent health recently. A zoo official says she was showing no signs of illness or decline. … Read full story

The bald eagle known as One Wing, the Exxon Valdez oil spill survivor that became a mascot and symbol of hope for the Bird Treatment and Learning Center, has died. One Wing, who lived nearly 20 years longer than anyone would have imagined, was found dead in his mew at the center. …

One Wing’s story is known by many in Alaska and beyond…

In 1989, poisoned by crude, the eagle fought oil-spill rescuers so hard he tore up his wing beating it against the ground. He arrived at the center a wreck, and [Bird TLC founder Jim Scott] had to amputate his wing. He didn’t expect him to survive, and decided to use him as a living blood bank to save other oiled eagles. …

One Wing’s death took many off-guard… Read full obituary

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — So many people felt a stake in Barbaro’s recovery. They imagined his pain, grimaced each time he faltered, took heart as each day passed and he was still alive, making painfully slow progress.

The 2006 Kentucky Derby winner’s fight for survival was their fight, a symbol of strength, courage and comfort — and, more than anything else, a source of inspiration.

He was, after all, winner of the world’s most famous race, in a sport desperate for a superstar. For months he seemed, remarkably, to take everything that came at him: good and bad. … Read full obituary

Gasper, the beloved beluga whale who became a star of the Georgia Aquarium, was euthanized this morning [January 2] after months of declining health. The ghost-white whale, who had fought a deadly bone disease for months, had stopped eating on his own several weeks ago and aquarium officials said at the time his chances of survival were slim. … Read full obituary

The scrappy dog known as Eddie on TV’s “Frasier” has died.

The 16-year-old Jack Russell terrier, whose real name was Moose, passed away of old age Thursday at the Los Angeles home of trainer Mathilde Halberg, Halberg told People magazine.

The canine character Eddie drove Kelsey Grammer’s lead character crazy for 10 years on the show. …

Moose, who also played the older dog Skip in the 2000 film “My Dog Skip,” was retired in recent years. … Read full obituary

Hal, the coyote who led park rangers and police officers on a two-day chase in Central Park last month, died on Thursday, moments before he was to be released in a thousand-acre state forest in Putnam County. He was about a year old.

The cause of death had not been determined…

Hal’s birthplace was unknown, as was his birthday. After his romp in the park, Adrian Benepe, the city’s parks commissioner, speculated that Hal had fled Westchester County, wandering across the railroad bridge that connects the Bronx and Manhattan at Spuyten Duyvil. From there, Mr. Benepe said, Hal could have sauntered down the West Side and into Central Park.

He had the run of the park for a few days before parks officials cornered him at the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, not far from the Wollman Rink and the carousel. … Read full obituary

KOLKATA [Calcutta]: A giant aldabra tortoise thought to be around 250 years old has died in the Kolkata zoo of liver failure, zoo authorities said on Thursday.

The tortoise had been the pet of Robert Clive, the famous British military officer in colonial India around the middle of the 18th century, a local minister in West Bengal state said.

Local authorities say the tortoise, named “Addwaitya” meaning the “The One and Only” in Bengali, was the oldest tortoise in the world but they have not presented scientific proof to back up their claim.

“Historical records show he was a pet of British general Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago,” West Bengal Forest Minister Jogesh Barman said. … Read full obituary

A white gorilla which has been a star attraction at Barcelona zoo for decades has died of cancer, officials say.

Snowflake was thought to be the world’s only white gorilla.

He had been at the zoo for 37 years, popular with generations of visitors and becoming a symbol of the city.

Spanish vets had known since 2001 that Snowflake was suffering from skin cancer, but they announced in September that his illness had progressed and he had only a few months to live. … Read full obituary