Bhubaneswar: Baby elephant ‘Abhi’ which was under treatment for EEHV (Elephant endotheliotropic herpes viruses), died at Nandankanan zoo today at about 12:30 PM.
The jumbo showed erratic behaviour at about 12:15 PM with sitting and getting up repeatedly. It grunted loudly. The zoo veterinary experts put the animal on oxygen support and administered lifesaving drugs. Despite all the efforts, experts failed to save the jumbo, zoo authorities stated.
‘Abhi’ was brought from the Keonjhar Forest Division to the zoo last year in June when it was approximately two months. He was under hand rearing at the Zoo since then.
On September 19, Abhi fell ill and stopped consuming food. The body temperature also remained high. The Zoo experts collected the blood sample and sent it to Centre for Wildlife Health’s laboratory for screening.
The report was found positive for EEHV (Elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses) infection. Since then, the elephant had been undergoing treatment by a team of veterinarians and was under round-the-clock observation.
