It is with deep sadness that we share news of the sudden and unexpected loss of female Asian elephant, Riva.
As with all other members of the herd here, Riva received around-the-clock care and attention from our 15-strong team of dedicated elephant and veterinary experts.
As part of this continuous provision of care, anomalies were detected in her routine blood test on Wednesday 21 August 2024 which gave us cause for concern. It was imperative to investigate this quickly and thoroughly but, heartbreakingly, while undergoing a further routine diagnostic procedure, Riva died under general anaesthetic. Our teams did everything they could to try to revive her but, tragically, nothing could be done.
We’re now awaiting results from a series of tests which we hope will tell us more about the exact cause. We’re desperate to find the answers but it may take some time before we have full clarity on what happened due to the number of ongoing tests and the specialist nature of them.
“It really is difficult to find the words – we’re so utterly heartbroken to have lost Riva. She was an incredibly special elephant who was much-loved by so many. She’ll be greatly missed. Our hearts go out to our wonderful elephant and vet teams who cared for Riva day in, day out. Her loss is ever so tough to take and is not only felt deeply here but across our conservation community given what a huge blow this is to the conservation of endangered Asian elephants. We are devastated by this news.”
Jamie Christon, the zoo’s CEO
Asian elephants are listed as Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species. They are highly threatened by poaching, habitat loss, conflict with humans and disease.
We have a long history in Asian elephant conservation, both at the zoo through our successful endangered species breeding programme and in the wild where we are a major force in supporting vital conservation efforts across India.