Photo: Indianapolis Zoo
The Indianapolis Zoo shared a second dose of sad news on Tuesday.
“We are devastated to announce that a second African elephant in our herd, Kalina, died earlier today. Words cannot describe the emotional impact this is having on our Zoo family. On Saturday, March 23, 8-year-old Kalina started showing symptoms similar to elephant Nyah, who died March 19 after a short illness,” the Indiana zoo wrote in aMarch 26 Facebook post.
As the post notes, 8-year-old Kalina was the second African elephant to die at the zoo in just one week. Nyah, a 6-year-old African elephant, died on March 19 after “showing signs of abdominal discomfort” a few days before. At first,the zoo says, Nyah’s caregivers thought the animal had a mild case of colic. Unfortunately, the elephant’s symptoms rapidly progressed and she died a few days after falling ill.
Four days after Nyah’s death, Kalina started showing the same symptoms as Nyah. Like Nyah, Kalina died days after suddenly falling ill.
While the zoo is waiting on histopathology results from the necropsies of both young elephants, the park says that tests on Nyah’s remains show “high levels of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV).” Preliminary test results also revealed that Kalina had the “aggressive” herpes virus as well, reportsWISH.
“EEHV is a type of herpesvirus that can cause fatal hemorrhagic disease in elephants. It is one of the most deadly viral infections in elephants worldwide but is most commonly found in Asian elephants. It occurs in elephants in the wild as well as those in human care such as in sanctuaries and zoos. EEHV can strike without warning,” the zoo wrote on Facebook.
According to WISH, the zoo is keeping a close eye on their six surviving elephants and is giving the herd antiviral medication “as a precaution.”
“Veterinarians have not been able to determine why EEHV becomes active. We do not know what caused this to become active in Nyah and Kalina so suddenly,” Indianapolis Zoo President Dr. Rob Schumaker toldFOX 59, adding that vets are unsure how EEHV transmits from one elephant to another.
The diminished herd, which consists of African elephants all older than Kalina and Nyah, has shown no symptoms associated with EEHV. Shumaker believes the animals are out of the “critical window” for the disease.
source: people.com
