over 40 years ago, will celebrate her 50th birthday in a Tulsa, Oklahoma zoo today and tomorrow.

Ghunda caused a stir of interest on the Island in 1954 when the ship she was travelling on, Brocklebank Line's Mahronda , was forced to stop in Bermuda to replace a broken propeller.

At the time, Ghunda was three years old and weighed about 700 pounds. She was on her way from Calcutta, India to a circus in New York.

During her stay, more that 5,000 locals were allowed on the ship to visit the baby elephant.

Her caretakers were concerned about making their deadline to the circus, but Ghunda ended up spending an unscheduled vacation in the Island after refusing to board two commercial flights that were equipped to fly her to New York.

Subsequently she ended up spending two weeks at A.J. West's farm in Shelly Bay and entertained crowds of locals and visitors who continued to flock and see her.

Her stay ended when she was successfully boarded and shipped to New York on the luxury liner steamship The Queen of Bermuda .

That was the last local residents had heard or seen of Ghunda for 40 years.

An extensive search to find out information about the elephant ensued, and she was found happy and healthy in a Tulsa, Oklahoma zoo.

Ghunda was the subject of a book, Ghunda's Bermuda Holiday, written by Nancy Valentine. The popular children's book, now in its second printing, is available at bookstores and shops in Bermuda.

The zoo keepers at the Oklahoma zoo said they hoped that those who remembered Ghunda would be happy to know that she is doing well.