Zurich Zoo mourns another baby elephant

Mother Farha at Zurich Zoo in happier times Keystone / Patrick B. Kraemer

A male elephant has died shortly after birth at Zurich Zoo – the third young animal to do so at the institution in recent years.

The young animal was too weak and died despite the best effort of vets, Zurich Zoo said in a statementExternal link on Monday. The calf will be examined in the coming days to determine the exact cause of death, it said.

The birth occurred on Saturday shortly before midnight, but it soon became apparent that there might be problems. Because the calf had not appeared even several hours after the amniotic fluid had been discharged, the veterinary team administered a labour-inducing drug. A short time later, the animal was born.

However, he was clearly very weak. Mother Farha and grandmother Ceyla-Himali, who was also present, looked after the calf and tried to revive him. The vets also tried to help. Nevertheless, the calf died shortly after birth.

Elephant calves born in April and August 2020 also survived only a very short time.

Older elephants at the zoo have also recently experienced health problems. Last summer several young elephants died as a result of a herpes infection. Whether the virus played a role in the current death is unknown. “At present, there is no indication of a connection with the viral diseases,” the zoo said.