Post mortem results for Anna the Asian elephant

A post mortem carried out by the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) veterinary staff has confirmed that Anna's death was due to an infection related to the still birth of her calf. Following a complicated birth of a stillborn calf on Monday 1st July, and despite the best efforts of the veterinary team and the continual attention of her dedicated keepers, she died at 8am on Thursday 4 July.

Anna was born in 1982, and spent the first years of her life in a Burmese logging camp. She arrived at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park in 1989 when she was seven years old, along with two of the other female Asian elephants at Whipsnade, Lucha and Kaylee.

"This has been very upsetting for everyone at Whipsnade and ZSL. As you can imagine, after following her pregnancy for so long, the loss of both Anna and her calf is deeply saddening," comments Nick Lindsay, Senior Curator at ZSL. "Anna was a favourite among many of our staff and regular visitors and will be hugely missed."

"Elephant births are notoriously difficult, especially for first time mothers - for instance, one of our other females, Lucha, failed to fully develop her pregnancy earlier this year," continues Nick Lindsay. "However, with five mature females and a fertile bull we have every reason to remain positive about the herd and its contribution to the conservation of this endangered species."

ZSL Public Relations Office:
Debbie Curtis/Peter Beatty/Joe Laing
Tel: 020 7449 6363/6361/6236

Notes to editors:

Whipsnade Wild Animal Park and London Zoo are owned and run by The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) which is a registered charity.