Delhi zoo’s lone African elephant, Shankar, died from virus carried by rodents: Autopsy

Shankar had spent large parts of 2023 and 2024 chained and tethered while in ‘musth’, a state of heightened aggression in male elephants

Delhi zoo’s lone African elephant, Shankar (29), died of the encephalomyocarditis (EMCV) virus, which causes inflammation of the heart muscles, according to his postmortem report. The elephant had collapsed and died in his enclosure on September 17.

Gifted to India by Zimbabwe in 1998, Shankar was named after the country’s ninth president, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma. He arrived with a companion, Bombai, who died in 2005. Over the past decade, Shankar lived largely in isolation (HT Archive)

On September 20, the Delhi zoo had said that preliminary findings indicated Shankar died of “acute cardiac failure,” with samples sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly for confirmation. “The preliminary opinion after post-mortem was … death due to acute cardiac failure. The cause of acute heart failure is to be ascertained from lab reports from collected samples, which is awaited from Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly,” the zoo had said in its statement then.

Officials aware of the matter said the final postmortem report has attributed the death to the EMCV virus. The virus, they explained, is primarily transmitted by rodents—particularly rats—which act as its natural reservoir. “Animals become infected after ingesting contaminated food or water, or from coming in contact with carcasses of rodents,” one official said.

“EMCV has been found widely in African elephants both captive and wild,” the official added, noting that inflammation of the heart muscles caused by the virus ultimately led to acute cardiac failure.

Delhi zoo director Sanjeet Kumar declined to comment on the findings.

Officials had earlier said Shankar had shown no signs of illness before September 16.

Gifted to India by Zimbabwe in 1998, Shankar was named after the country’s ninth president, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma. He arrived with a companion, Bombai, who died in 2005. Over the past decade, Shankar lived largely in isolation, with interactions with the zoo’s two Indian elephants, Heera and Laxmi, ending completely after 2021.

An investigation ordered by the zoo director and the Union environment ministry to examine the circumstances of Shankar’s death is still underway.

The elephant had spent large parts of 2023 and 2024 chained and tethered while in ‘musth’, a state of heightened aggression in male elephants triggered by a surge in reproductive hormones.

Last year, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) revoked the Delhi zoo’s membership following allegations of neglect and mistreatment of Shankar. The zoo had recently begun efforts to find him a female companion when he suddenly died.