One of the zoo’s adult female elephants has died after falling ill inside the Asian Forest habitat
14:16, 23 Jul 2024Updated 14:34, 23 Jul 2024
Chester Zoo has confirmed the sudden death of one the zoo’s adult female Asian elephants. A spokesperson announced Sundara Hi Way died after falling ill inside the zoo’s Elephants of the Asian Forest habitat on Friday, July 19.
They said both animal care and veterinary teams rushed to help her but, despite doing everything they could to try and treat her, Sundara deteriorated rapidly and died. An examination has since confirmed Sundara died after suffering from twisted intestines.
The zoo said this complication can occur in a range of mammals, including horses and it can happen very quickly and is almost impossible to diagnose or treat in elephants. Jamie Christon, the zoo’s CEO said: “We are all so deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic turn of events. Our thoughts are, of course, with our wonderful elephant conservationists who have cared for Sundara since she was born here in 2004.”
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Jamie added: “In that time, she had given birth to a number of calves including female elephants Indali and Riva, who are at the zoo today, and played a vital role in the conservation breeding programme for this endangered species. Asian elephants Riva, Indali, Anjan and Maya remain in good health and our expert teams will be monitoring them all extra closely in the coming days and weeks as the herd dynamics adjust to this sudden change.”
Asian elephants are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with fewer than 50,000 remaining today. Chester Zoo has a long history of working with the animals, both in the zoo through its successful conservation breeding programme and in the wild where it is a major force in supporting conservation efforts in India.