The newborn elephant surprisingly overcame the fatal infection and is now enjoying its exciting new existence.
As the title suggests, this tale unfolded in Chester Zoo. The zoo is experiencing an epidemic of a potentially fatal infection.
This infection has already claimed the lives of three infant elephants in the area over the course of four years; losing this fourth would be catastrophic.
Workers were able to preserve the young elephant by using cutting-edge blood testing techniques to identify the infection early on.
A blood plasma transfusion and antiviral medications were administered intravenously to the newborn elephant right away.
The newborn elephant has been struggling for his life for two weeks, but he is now starting to make progress.
The zoo director said they couldn’t afford to lose another newborn Asian elephant since the species is in risk of extinction. This is why we tried everything we could think of to help him get well.
He said that although larger elephants are able to resist the infection, smaller ones are unable and often die as a result.
The mother and baby elephant are already settling into life at the zoo. He indulges his passion for the water by swimming often.
Because he is hilarious, we hope he stays healthy.
