PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSHUA SYDNEY-SMITH/SAINT LOUIS ZOO
Avi’s parents were Rani and Raja.
The Saint Louis Zoo has announced that the male Asian elephant calf born on July 6 died Sunday morning, after his already poor health severely worsened in the last 48 hours.
Named Avi by the care staff (which means “the sun and air”), the calf’s parents were Raja and Rani. He was the first male Asian elephant to ever be born at the Saint Louis Zoo; the first was his father Raja, born in 1992.
According to a release, the Zoo’s Elephant Care Team of keepers and veterinarians ultimately made the decision to humanely euthanize Avi after the calf’s developmental impairments “limited his ability to feed since birth.” The release said Rani was close by her calf at every moment.
For the last 27 days, the care team and veterinarians performed “intensive care efforts and life support measures” and helped the calf feed.
"Everyone here is just devastated right now,” Jeffrey P. Bonner, Dana Brown President and CEO of the Saint Louis Zoo, said in a statement. “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."
St. Louisans previously watched Rani’s pregnancy on the Saint Louis Zoo’s website.
“Avi will be missed, but never forgotten,” said Luis Padilla, the Zoo’s vice president of Animal Collections.
