- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- Battery X Metals Announces Closing of Non-Brokered Private Placement and Debt Settlement
- MGO Global Announces Closing of Upsized $6.0 Million Public Offering
Deadly elephant virus stalks Zurich zoo
A deadly virus has swept through Zurich's zoo, killing three Asian elephants in a month and leaving experts stumped as to how to stop its spread.
The zoo overlooking Switzerland's largest city now has only five of the majestic creatures roaming its 11,000-square-metre (118,400-square-foot) elephant enclosure.
Two-year-old bull Umesh was the first to fall victim to the Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) at the end of June, followed just days later by his eight-year-old sister Omysha.
Last Saturday, Ruwani, a five-year-old female from a second matriarchal herd also died.
They succumbed at lightning speed to the herpesvirus, which leaves young Asian elephants with internal bleeding and organ failure.
In captivity, this virus is "the main cause of death for elephants between two and eight years", zoo curator Pascal Marty told AFP.
The virus has also been known to kill elephants in the wild, he said, but "it's a bit harder to detect".
- Last goodbye -
The herpesvirus lies latent in nearly all elephants, both in the wild and in captivity, but can in some cases suddenly become deadly, killing its victims in a matter of days.
"We still don't know why it happens and when it happens," Marty said.
The zoo's five remaining Asian elephants -- all adults -- were permitted to spend a few hours gathered around the remains of their young family members and companions.
Marty said it was important to give the animals "enough time (to) say farewell".
"It's very hard to say whether or not they are sad, because sadness is something human," he said.
But he stressed that since elephants are highly social animals, it is vital that they have a chance to realise when a member of their herd is no longer alive.
"It is very important for them to have closure to understand this individual is not part of our group anymore."
Less than a week after the latest death, the giant mammals appear to be going nonchalantly about their daily activities, from swimming in a large pond to searching for food.
They slip their trunks into holes, where a computer programme randomly distributes carrots and dried grass, aiming to make the animals walk and search for food as in the wild.
- Stress -
"It is kind of sad, especially because here in Zurich I think the elephants do have enough space," said frequent visitor Mauro Muller, 29.
Zurich zoo opened its new elephant enclosure in 2014, providing its herds six times more space than they had previously.
But eight years on, the zoo acknowledged it was going through "difficult days".
"It is particularly frustrating that we are powerless against this virus, despite the best veterinary care through the university animal hospital in Zurich," zoo director Severin Dressen said in a statement.
There is no vaccine, and while antivirals exist, they are not very efficient and even when elephants are treated quickly, only about a third of them survive.
"The epidemiology of the disease is still not clear," said Bhaskar Choudhury, a veterinarian and member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Asian Elephant Specialist Group.
"The virus is shed intermittently by adults but with increasing frequency during stress periods, which is thought to be the source of infection for young calves," he told AFP.
"IUCN is highly concerned with the mortality worldwide in captivity and more so in the wild."
- 'Ambassadors' -
Asian elephants, which can live up to around 60 years old, are listed by the IUCN as an endangered species, with only about 50,000 left in the wild.
Deforestation, urban sprawl and agricultural development have robbed them of their natural habitat, while poaching and the illegal ivory trade also threaten many herds.
"The populations are declining almost everywhere," Marty said, adding that for conservation reasons, "it is also really important to have good and healthy populations of Asian elephants in Europe".
Zurich zoo, he said, has one of the world's most modern elephant enclosures, and is intent on continuing with its mission to breed them.
He described the elephants in the park as "partners" in educating people about the problems wild elephants face.
"Elephants here at the zoo have an important role as ambassadors for their own species," he said.
J.Williams--AMWN