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Mourning in the zoo: bull elephant Otto dies of herpes infection
Leipzig Zoo says goodbye to elephants Rani and Savani, who have moved to Munich. Sad loss of the young bull Otto.
Mourning in the zoo: bull elephant Otto dies of herpes infection
Leipzig Zoo recently said goodbye to the two elephants Rani and Savani, who now live in the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich. The two animals were excluded from their herd at the zoo. According to reports from MDR, Rani and Savani are living well in their new surroundings and have already settled in again. The zoo is hoping for offspring of elephants, which particularly underlines the move of the animals to a new home. thueringen24.de reports on the positive news from Munich.
However, the joy is overshadowed by tragic news: At the Hellabrunn Zoo, the four-year-old bull elephant Otto became seriously ill due to a herpes infection (EEHV 1). His health deteriorated rapidly, despite intensive medical measures. The popular young bull died on June 16th after a short but serious illness. The zoo announced that Otto's body would be taken to veterinary pathology for an autopsy and that the remaining group of elephants had said goodbye to him. Rasem Baban, the zoo director, expressed his sadness at the loss of Otto, who was considered a popular animal personality. hellabrunn.de has published detailed information about Otto's illness.
The loss and its consequences
Herpes infection in young elephants is known to be often fatal, according to Dr. Hanspeter Steinmetz explains. Otto, who was born on November 11, 2020 and was the son of bull elephant Gajendra and female elephant Temi, had previously gotten along well with the other elephants and was very popular in the community. The illness was diagnosed on June 14 and the zoo's emergency response team worked around the clock to help him. Despite all efforts, Otto died in the early hours of June 16th.
The Hellabrunner Elephant House will reopen to visitors on June 17 to give those affected by Otto's loss the opportunity to interact with the remaining group of elephants. The zoo is also planning a podcast episode to share more information about this tragic episode.
Rani and Savani, who recently moved to Hellabrunn Zoo, said goodbye to Otto “as usual with elephants”. This behavior is typical of elephants, who share deep social bonds with each other. The loss of Otto is overshadowed by beautiful memories of his time at the zoo, while the two female elephants now raise hope for new times together in the zoo.