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Asian Elephant Calf Stillborn at ABQ BioPark

Incident Date:
12/10/2024
Location:
Albuquerque, NM - USA
Facility Name:
ABQ BioPark
Facility Type:
Accredited AZA Facility (AZA)
Incident Category:
Animal Death (AD)
Species:
Elephants
Animal:
Animal disposition:
Dead

Summary:

Albuquerque, NM – Rozie the Asian elephant at the ABQ BioPark is stable and recovering after giving birth to a stillborn calf early Tuesday morning. The gestation period for an Asian elephant is 18-22 months. Rozie reached 18 months in mid-October, prompting staff to watch her around the clock. At around 9 p.m. Monday, they reported she went into labor. After around three-and-a-half hours in labor, they delivered the calf. However, the calf wasn’t moving.

Rozie saw this and tried to get the calf to wake up while her mother, Alice, stood by. After multiple attempts, animal care and veterinary staff decided to enter the birthing barn and tend to the calf.

That is when the staff pronounced the calf dead. According to the BioPark, they may not know the conclusive cause of death for several weeks.

Action take by Born Free USA:

Notes: