Three elephants died of herpes at Zurich zoo in one month | NOW

An elephant succumbed to the effects of herpes at Zurich Zoo on Saturday. This is the third time in a month that Zürich Zoo an elephant loses to the virus.

Five-year-old female Ruwani died from the effects of ElHV-1, a variant of herpes common in elephants. She showed no symptoms until Friday, according to the zoo, but her health deteriorated sharply in a short time. Omysha, an eight-year-old girl, died of the same illness in mid-July. Umesh, a two-year-old male, died in late June.

Almost all elephants have some variant of the virus among their limbs, but it’s not always deadly. Since the discovery of the herpes variant in elephants in 1990, 70 elephants have died in zoos around the world.

“The loss of three elephants to this terrible virus in a short time is a tragic loss for the zoo,” said director Severin Dressen. “It is a very sad day. It is frustrating that despite the best animal care available, we are helpless against the virus.”

The zoo’s three remaining elephants are at low risk, keepers say. They would be too old to succumb to the herpes virus, which mainly affects elephants under the age of eight. The youngest of the remaining elephants is now 17 years old.