[2] After attacking and nearly killing his keeper in 1941, Ziggy was chained to the wall of an indoor enclosure, and remained there for nearly three decades.
His confinement became a cause célèbre in the late 1960s, when schoolchildren and other animal enthusiasts began campaigning for his release.
[citation needed] Born in Asia, Ziggy was named after Florenz Ziegfeld, who purchased the elephant from John Ringling in 1920.
While touring with Singer's troupe, Ziggy bonded with a dwarf named Charles Becker, who taught the elephant how to dance, play a harmonica, and smoke cigarettes.
[4] At the San Diego Exposition Children's Circus in February 1936, Becker fell ill, and Ziggy was paired with a new handler, Johnny Winters.
[4] At Brookfield Zoo on April 26, 1941,[7] Ziggy suddenly turned on his keeper, George "Slim" Lewis.
Sensing his chance to escape, Lewis pulled himself up by grabbing onto Ziggy's ear, then punched the elephant in the eye.
[8] Despite his ordeal, Lewis was an animal lover, and he begged zoo director Robert Bean to spare Ziggy's life.
[14] In August 1970, the zoo received a major boost when William Sitwell, president of the Chicagoland Buick-Opel Dealers Association, pledged to match the money raised from individual sources.
On September 23, 1970, Ziggy saw the sun for the first time in nearly thirty years when he was allowed to walk through a barricaded portion of his old yard.
[21] A few months later, Ziggy laid down to rest in his indoor stall, rolled onto his side, and died while being bathed by Lewis.
Zoo spokespeople said Ziggy had mainly died of old age, explaining that the animal's health had been declining long before he fell into the moat.