'World's loneliest elephant' died in isolation in 'rat-infested' zoo of rodent-borne virus

Shankar was kept in isolation in a zoo in Delhi (Image: Getty)

An elephant known as the loneliest of its kind in the world has died of a rodent-borne virus. Campaigners had long fought for the African elephant, which was housed in the Delhi Zoo in India, to be relocated to a wildlife sanctuary specialising in elephant rehabilitation. Shankar was a 29-year-old male and died on September 17. He spent much of his life in isolation after the death of his companion.

Zoo keepers said that Shankar's behaviour changed after the death of the other elephant. Integration attempts were made, but other elephants acted aggressively towards Shankar. The animal first arrived in India with another elephant in 1998 as a diplomatic gift from Zimbabwe to the former Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma. His companion died just a few years later in 2001.

"He was left friendless," an anonymous zoo employee told The Sun. Shankar was moved into a new enclosure in 2012, which saw him in isolation, despite a federal ban on keeping elephants alone for more than six months introduced in 2009.

The beloved animal tested positive for encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), Delhi Zoo director Sanjeet Kumar said after an autopsy was performed. The disease causes fatal inflammation of the heart and sometimes brain fever in mammals, and it is usually spread through the faeces and urine of infected rodents.

The MSD veterinary manual states that most cases of EMCV have been linked to captive animals in pig farms, primate research centres and zoos. The virus spreads fast and often causes sudden death. It has been documented in pigs, rodents, big cats and African elephants.

Shankar's case is the first-known death of an elephant from EMCV in India. "There may have been unreported instances of mammals dying because of EMCV," a senior official at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) told the BBC. Zoo director Mr Kumar did not answer questions about whether the zoo has a rodent problem.

Shankar passed away in September (Image: Getty)

A petition was filed in Delhi's high court in 2021, seeking Shankar's relocation to a sanctuary with other African elephants. However, it was dismissed two years later in 2023.

Following Shankar's death, the director of the petition, Nikita, said that his death was "preventable" and that it was "heartbreaking to see him die like this". Now that Shankar has passed away, there is only one African elephant left in India, also living in isolation. 

Meanwhile, Gauri Maulekhi, another animal activist, told the BBC: "An internal inquiry is simply not enough. [This must] serve as a watershed moment to end the cruel practice of keeping elephants and other social animals isolated in our zoos for good."