Chester Zoo Elephant Calves

[tiggerblue10]

How awful. Poor little mites :(

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-45978430

[Peter Pedant]

aah poor liddle things

Herpes is a DNA virus with a propensity for latency - -
er sorry a bit technical - endotheliotropic is that it is attracted towards endothelium - linings of arteries etc

( fifty years ago - people er well some people were saying that one shouldnt say dermotropic ( goes to skin ) neurotropic ( goes to nerve) as it is very Victorian and not molecular genetic DNA at all)

[Mamyalynne]

So very sad, I used to love the antics of little Nandita Hi Way , imagine everyone is heartbroken.

[wolf63]

There is a link at the bottom of the story that says they lost two babies to the same virus in 2015. :-(

They are such happy little babies, it is sad for their parents, the rest of the Elephants and their humans too.

[murraymints]

awww.saw them a few months back..such a shame

[kvalidir]

That's so sad I love flumps :( x

[Peter Pedant]

yeah they dont get it from anywhere
the virus is present in the herd ( latent ..... waiting)

[Canary42]

They "tested positive" for the virus (which is present in lots of elephants not to their detriment we are told) but didn't deteriorate until the "treatment" started. Would they have survived perhaps if not interfered with by the "experts"?

Rather suspicious in my view, sounds like a case of using animals for drug testing "under the counter". After all, zoos don't really have any compassionate feelings for their animals, they're just money-spinners to them.

Of course most folks will pooh-pooh this suggestion, which is why they get away with it so often.

[wolf63]

Canary, did you read the same information as I did? They did nothing to the calves until they showed signs of illness.

You really have a warped view of life ( and humans) if you can find the negative everywhere.

And here was me thinking that I was a negative person ...

[pixie374]

Awwww :-(