5-yr-old elephant calf dies of mysterious ailment

new delhi: the mysterious death of a five-year-old female african elephant on monday morning has baffled the delhi zoo authorities. vimbai, the baby elephant, was perfectly alright on sunday. she had her regular intake of about five kg khichri and 20 to 25 kg of broad green leaves. ``but on monday morning, a keeper found her lying unconscious,'' zoo director b s bonal told the times of india.the zoo doctor and veterinary officer tried to revive her but vimbai died at 10.30 am. ``she was given medicines to release the excessive gas formed in her stomach but she could not be saved,'' an official said. she will be buried in the zoo and her small tusks will be kept there in safe custody. the exact cause of her death will be known only after the autopsy report is declared in a few days time. some organs will be sent to the indian veterinary research institute, bareilly, for detailed examination. what's worrying the zoo authorities is that she did not show any signs of being unwell earlier and died suddenly. moreover, the average life span of her species is between 50 to 70 years. vimbai, along with shanker, an african male elephant, were gifted by zimbabwe to india in october 1998. after being quarantined for 60 days, the first ever pair of african elephants in delhi zoo was shifted to an open enclosure here. now efforts are being made to ensure the well being of shanker. ``we will move him to another enclosure so that he does not get affected by the same ailment that killed vimbai. we might shift him to the enclosure of indian elephants after keeping him under observation for a few days so that he does not suffer from boredom and loneliness,'' bonal said.