Chester Zoo confirms tragic death of young elephant, Riva

The zoo has said that four-year-old female Asian elephant, named Riva, sadly died last week.

It comes after Riva's mum, Sundara Hi Way, died at the zoo in July after complications from an illness.

Sundara died at the zoo earlier this summer. (Image: Chester Zoo)

The zoo said "anomalies" were detected in a routine blood test on Wednesday, August 21 which gave keepers 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.

The zoo said its teams did everything they could to try to revive her but, tragically, nothing could be done. They are now awaiting results from a series of tests which they hope will tell them more about the exact cause.

The zoo said that due to the number of ongoing tests and the specialist nature of them, it may take some time before it has full clarity on what happened.

Jamie Christon, the zoo’s CEO, said: “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.”

Asian elephants are listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species. In the wild, they are highly threatened by poaching, habitat loss, conflict with humans and disease.

Chester Zoo has a long history in Asian elephant conservation, both at the zoo through its successful endangered species breeding programme and in the wild where it is a major force in supporting vital conservation efforts across India.