Missing Elephant Small For Its Age

Maybe it painted its toenails red and hid in a strawberry patch.

The Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said Friday it has been looking since Monday for a 13-year-old African bull elephant named “Moxie.”

The department says the animal is small for its age, about 4,500 pounds. It may be undernourished and suffering from a disease that causes the skin around its rump to scale and fluff. The agency also believes the owner may not be licensed by the agency.

The animal was last seen in Yucaipa in Southern California, said Ron DeHaven, acting deputy administrator for animal care. He said the agency had received complaints about the animal’s condition.

An agency vet had looked at the animal Dec. 4 in Thousand Oaks, Calif., in its trailer near an auto body shop. But when authorities returned, the owner and the elephant were gone.

“For the most part …,” DeHaven said, “we never have had any trouble trying to locate an elephant before.”