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Wildlife activists have expressed deep concern over the death of a young female elephant at a training centre within Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha. The elephant calf succumbed to haemorrhagic shock on August 28, 2024, due to a herpes virus infection.
The incident occurred at the Kumarkhunti elephant training centre, a forest department facility known for its role in training Kumki elephants. According to reports, the calf was exhibiting symptoms of illness for several days before its condition deteriorated rapidly. Despite veterinary intervention, the young elephant could not be saved.
“Nature can be cruel. Sad to inform that we lost a dear elephant Mama at Kumarkhunti camp to herpes virus. This virus can cause acute hemorrhagic disease with more than 90 per cent in young elephants. It gave us so much of joy. It’s like losing a family member,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Susanta Nanda wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Veterinary officials from the Centre for Wildlife Health at Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) in Bhubaneswar performed the autopsy on Mama. The officials confirmed the elephant tested positive for the herpes virus.
Veterinary experts explained that the acute haemorrhagic disease is typically caused by the elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), a fatal infection affecting both captive and wild elephants, particularly in Asian elephants. “EEHV can strike without warning,” noted Subash Chandra Parija, a retired professor from the College of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, OUAT.
Unlike the common herpes-simplex virus, which targets the skin and remains dormant in nerve cells, the elephant virus attacks endothelial cells — those that line blood vessels, the heart and other organs, he explained. There are five jumbos now at the training centre who have been isolated and are receiving antiviral treatment.
Mama was born in 2017 and was brought to Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar, after being separated from her mother in the Tangi forest in Khurda. She was later relocated to the training centre, sources said.
“It is perplexing how wildlife personnel failed to detect the virus infection in a captive elephant, given that the virus takes several days to affect the animal's vital organs,” said Biswajit Mohanty of the Wildlife Society of Orissa, a non-profit organisation.
Urgent steps are needed to prevent the virus from spreading to other elephants before it escalates into an epidemic, he added. “The virus might have already infected other young elephants in the area,” Mohanty warned.
In addition to antiviral treatment, Jitshatru Mohanty, a former senior forest officer and trustee of the Save Elephant Foundation Trust, stated that the area must be sanitised immediately to prevent the virus from spreading to other animals, particularly young elephants.
He also mentioned that, according to a government report, 11 elephants in Odisha have died as a result of herpes virus infections in the last four years (2019-2023), four of which occurred at Nandankanan Zoo. “Given that herpes is the second leading cause of elephant deaths after anthrax, veterinary and wildlife experts must implement preventive measures to protect the elephants,” Jitshatru said.
