A 29-year-old male African elephant known as the ‘world’s loneliest elephant’ has died of a rodent-borne virus after spending much of his life in isolation in a zoo in Delhi, India, with campaigners fighting for his relocation to a wildlife sanctuary
An elephant dubbed the world’s loneliest has die from a rodent-transmitted virus. Animal rights activists had campaigned tirelessly for the African elephant, kept at Delhi Zoo in India, to be moved to a specialist wildlife sanctuary for elephant care.
Shankar, a 29-year-old male elephant, passed away on September 17. He had spent most of his existence in solitude following his companion’s death.
Zookeepers reported that Shankar’s demeanour altered dramatically after losing the other elephant, reports the Express. Efforts were made to introduce him to other elephants, but they responded with hostility towards Shankar.
The creature originally came to India alongside another elephant in 1998 as a diplomatic present from Zimbabwe to then-Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma.
His mate perished just a few years afterwards in 2001. “He was left friendless,” an unnamed zoo worker revealed to The Sun.
Shankar was relocated to fresh quarters in 2012, which left him in solitude, despite a national prohibition on housing elephants alone for more than six months enacted in 2009.
The cherished creature contracted encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), Delhi Zoo director Sanjeet Kumar confirmed following a post-mortem examination.
The illness triggers deadly heart inflammation and occasionally brain fever in mammals, typically transmitted via the droppings and urine of infected rodents. The MSD veterinary manual reveals that the majority of EMCV cases have been connected to captive animals housed in pig farms, primate research facilities and zoos.
The virus spreads rapidly and frequently results in sudden death, with documented cases in pigs, rodents, big cats and African elephants.
Shankar’s death marks the first recorded fatality of an elephant from EMCV in India. A senior official at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) told the BBC: “There may have been unreported instances of mammals dying because of EMCV,” Zoo director Mr Kumar declined to respond to enquiries about potential rodent issues at the facility.
A legal petition was submitted to Delhi’s high court in 2021, demanding Shankar’s transfer to a sanctuary alongside other African elephants. The petition was ultimately rejected two years later in 2023.
In the wake of Shankar’s death, petition director Nikita declared that his passing was “preventable” and expressed that it was “heartbreaking to see him die like this”. With Shankar’s demise, just one African elephant remains in India, also living in solitary confinement.
Animal activist Gauri Maulekhi told the BBC: “An internal inquiry is simply not enough. [This must] serve as a watershed moment to end the cruel practice of keeping elephants and other social animals isolated in our zoos for good.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.