Second young elephant dies at Syracuse zoo. Batu, 5, died 3 days after brother Ajay
Updated Dec 11, 2020;
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Batu’s baby brother, Ajay, died Tuesday.
Both young elephants died of elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus, the biggest killer of young Asian elephants.
“Just an absolute devastating day for the community again, and for our parks team and our zoo team,’ McMahon said.
Batu, pronounced BAA-two, was 5 years old. His younger brother, baby Ajay, died on Tuesday about a month before his second birthday.
Batu was born in May 2015 to Mali, his mother, and Doc, his father. His name, which means “like his father” or “loyal,” was chosen by voters in an online contest. He was his parents’ first calf.