Dari the elephant might soon need to start lying about her age.

Dari turns 49 Friday, and Hogle Zoo is planning a celebration in her honor.

She is already the oldest African elephant in a North American zoo, and the zoo will honor her at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

The usual pachyderm program will instead be focused on Dari. Visitors can sign a birthday card and watch Dari eat her elephant-sized birthday cake, made of some of her favorite foods like peanut butter, popcorn and hay.

Dari has been a wonderful ambassador for the zoo, said public relations director Holly Braithwaite.

Dari allows visitors a unique opportunity to interact with elephants, and helps educate them about the fragility of elephant populations in the wild, Braithwaite said.

The zoo will celebrate another milestone later this summer -- the youngest African elephant in captivity. Christie, Dari's roommate, is due to give birth in July or August, bringing the zoo's elephant population up to three.

With the new baby sure to take much of the publicity, Dari is enjoying the limelight while it lasts.

Braithwaite said Dari knew it was her special day last year, trumpeting and relishing the attention. The focus will be back on Dari again next year, when the zoo plans an even larger celebration for her 50th birthday.