Protesters holding vigil outside zoo for Chai, the elephant who died this weekend

OKLAHOMA CITY – A group of protesters dressed in black will hold a vigil outside the Oklahoma City Zoo on Wednesday for Chai, the elephant who died over the weekend after being transported from Seattle last year.

PETA will be part of the protest.

"This animal's life was marked by trauma, from the day she was taken from her beloved mother as an infant in Thailand to the moment she died in a crowded zoo," said PETA’s Rachel Mathews.

A local group, the Friends of the Woodland Park Zoo Elephants, has said that it filed a complaint with the USDA. The group said Chai’s death at 37 was much younger than the 60-70 years Asian elephants typically survive in the wild.