Hellabrunn Zoo mourns: Elephant Otto succumbs to herpes virus

Hellabrunn Zoo starts the week with the announcement of heartbreaking news: Otto, the beloved young bull elephant, who had been suffering from a life-threatening herpes infection (EEHV 1), has died following a night of rapid deterioration in his health from Sunday to Monday. Despite acute medical measures initiated since Saturday morning and previous vaccination administered, Otto succumbed to his serious illness in the early hours of this morning in the presence of his keepers.

"It was a race against time, which, despite all the efforts of our emergency team of veterinarians, keepers and partner laboratories, unfortunately could no longer be won due to the serious nature of the infection," said zoo director Rasem Baban. "Otto was already showing increasing signs of exhaustion and malaise on Saturday morning, whereupon as previously reported, we immediately began to implement the appropriate measures. With the passing of Otto, Hellabrunn has lost a charismatic and extremely popular animal personality. His untimely death will now have to be processed, especially by the elephant herd. His dedicated keepers and the entire staff at Hellabrunn are also very sad about this loss!"

Verena Dietl, chair of the supervisory board and mayor of Munich, also expressed her deep sadness at the loss of the young bull: "Despite his young age, Otto was already a very influential elephant! He brought so much joy and enthusiasm to countless zoo visitors and elephant fans. He was also a great ambassador for endangered Asian elephants in the wild. His sudden death has shocked not only me, but also many friends of the zoo. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the Hellabrunn zookeepers and veterinarians who tried absolutely everything to save Otto's life. But as so often happens, nature has the last word – we must submit to it."

Otto was born on 11 November 2020 at Hellabrunn Zoo to Dad Gajendra and mum Temi. His development has been consistently positive and promising since birth - the juvenile bull got on very well with his parents and the two other female elephant in the group, Panang (returned to Zurich Zoo in November 2023) and Mangala. The recent introduction of two new female pachyderms, Rani (15) and her two-year-old daughter Savani, also went very smoothly - further evidence of Otto's high level of social competence within the zoo‘s elephant herd.

Dr. Hanspeter Steinmetz, veterinarian and deputy zoo director of Hellabrunn Zoo, shed light on events from a veterinary perspective: "As already announced, we tried to minimise the risk of Otto contracting herpes. The vaccine from the Netherlands administered in advance was an important first step. Young animals like Otto do not have their own herpes antibodies and are therefore particularly at risk. With this in mind, we had taken appropriate blood plasma reserves from his father over the past weeks and months as a precautionary measure, which were also used in Otto's emergency care over the weekend. Unfortunately, all preventative and acute medical measures ultimately failed to save Otto's life, and he succumbed to this serious infection in the early hours of this Monday morning."

Steinmetz added. "Looking at similar cases of the disease, it must be stated that very few young elephants – regardless of whether they are in their natural habitat or in zoological ex-situ care – have a real chance of survival. By the time the first symptoms are detected in the animal, it is often already too late. Even emergency medical measures cannot stop the usually fatal course of the disease."

The elephant herd at Hellabrunn Zoo has bid farewell to Otto – as is customary with elephants. Otto's body has now been taken to the veterinary pathology department, where a necropsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death. The remaining members of the group are doing well, as they have appropriate protection through antibodies, or in the case of two-year-old Savani, through maternal protection in the form of her mother's milk. To mark the passing of Otto, Hellabrunn Zoo will publish a podcast episode dedicated to the beloved young elephant in the near future.