POWELL – The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium says an elephant born three weeks ago has died, the third newborn animal to die in recent weeks.
The zoo says the female Asian elephant died Wednesday afternoon after a sudden illness.
The zoo’s veterinary team says the calf was observed nursing overnight Tuesday but appeared sluggish at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and was found to have an infection. The team gave her fluids, antibiotics and blood plasma from her mother.
She initially seemed to rebound but then her health declined again and she died at 1:30 p.m. A full necropsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death, though results will not be available for several weeks, said zoo spokeswoman Patty Peters.
Three giraffes – two calves and an adult – have died at the zoo in the past few weeks.
The zoo had not yet named the elephant who was born on Dec. 6. It was the first elephant birth at the zoo in almost 10 years and the first to be born as a result of artificial insemination.
The elephant was born to a 31-year-old Asian elephant named Phoebe who was artificially inseminated with sperm from two elephants, one at the Columbus zoo and one at another zoo.
The calf was part of the herd of six other Asian elephants, including Phoebe, in the Asia Quest region.