Saint Louis Zoo Announces Death of Baby Elephant

The Saint Louis Zoo this weekend announced that the male Asian elephant born a month ago, has died. The decision was made to humanely euthanize the calf, and he died peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 2.

The zoo said its elephant care team of keepers and veterinarians worked around the clock to provide the best care for the new calf and his mother, Rani (pronounced “Ronnie”), who was near her calf at every moment. The baby elephant had developmental impairments that limited his ability to feed since birth.

“Everyone here is just devastated right now,” said Jeffrey P. Bonner, Ph.D., Dana Brown president and CEO, Saint Louis Zoo. “Our team of professional elephant care experts did everything possible to help improve the calf’s health. Unfortunately, in the end, it just wasn’t enough, as his health complications were too severe.”

While the calf lived a short life of 27 days, he made quite the impression on the elephant care team, who had prepared for his arrival for almost three years. The keepers named him Avi (pronounced AH-vee), which means “the sun and air.”

The veterinary team will conduct a full necropsy (animal autopsy), of which results will not be available for several weeks.