Delhi’s lone African elephant Shankar was killed by a rare rodent-borne virus

A rodent-borne virus has killed the only African elephant at a zoo in the Indian capital, Delhi, officials have told the BBC.

Shankar, a 29-year-old male, died September 17 after spending much of his life in isolation. His cause of death was unknown at the time.

A post-mortem has now revealed that the elephant has tested positive for encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), Delhi Zoo Director Sanjit Kumar said.

EMCV is known to cause fatal inflammation of the heart and sometimes brain fever in mammals. The virus is spread through the feces and urine of rodents.

Most EMCV outbreaks are linked to captive animals in pig farms, primate research centers and zoos, according to the MSD Veterinary Handbook.

The virus multiplies rapidly and can attack the heart and sometimes the brain, often causing sudden death. So far, no specific antiviral treatment is available for EMCV.

According to a 2012 study in the peer-reviewed medical journal Virulence, EMCV has been documented worldwide in pigs, rodents, big cats and African elephants, among other mammals.

The virus, according to a report in Nature, was first isolated in 1945 from a gibbon in Florida.

Since the 1970s, local outbreaks have been reported in the United States, South Africa, China, Australia, Canada, South America, and several countries in Europe.

The outbreaks in the US and South Africa have particularly affected captive African elephants.

In India, the virus was isolated for the first time in the late 1960s. But Shankar is the first “recorded” death caused by EMCV in India, a senior official at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) told the BBC, adding that “there may have been unreported cases of mammals dying from EMCV”. Shankar’s post-mortem was conducted at IVRI.

Mr. Kumar, the zoo’s director, did not respond to specific questions about how Shankar might have become infected and whether the zoo had a rodent problem.

“It’s a rare virus and I’m not an expert on it,” he said.

Shankar’s death has caused grief among animal lovers and activists who have long sought to educate the lonely animal.

He was among the two African elephants that arrived in India in 1998 as a diplomatic gift from Zimbabwe to former Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma. But Shankar’s companion died in 2001. He was then temporarily housed with Asian elephants in the zoo, but the plan did not work.

In 2012, Shankar was moved to a new enclosure that left him in virtual isolation — despite a 2009 federal ban on elephants being kept alone for more than six months. He remained there until his death.

For years, activists have called for Shankar to be removed from the zoo and rehabilitated in a wildlife sanctuary that houses other African elephants.

In 2021, a petition in the Delhi High Court sought that of Shankar relocation in a sanctuary with other African elephants. Two years later, the court dismissed the petition, ordering the petitioner to approach a commission dealing with transfers of wild animals from zoos.

After Shankar’s death, only one African elephant remained in India – an adult male at the Mysore Zoo in southern Karnataka state. He has also lived alone for years.

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