North American Asian Elephant Population 2025

Zoofan15 said:
Success in EEHV vaccine trial:

A very encouraging step in the vaccine trial:

Groundbreaking Vaccine Helps Young Elephants at Cincinnati Zoo Overcome Deadly Virus - Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
We are happy to share that the world’s first mRNA vaccine against Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) appears to be effective. Sanjay and Kabir, two young male elephants at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden who were vaccinated in 2024 and later tested positive for EEHV, are now testing negative.

See link for full article.
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Whoop whoop! Absolutely fantabulous news. I'll be getting excited as a manic NFL fan over this trial. If the othee vaccine trials work for Rosamond Houston and Ft Worth that means lots of viable captive Asians for generations going forward.
 
The Horse Boy said:
Whoop whoop! Absolutely fantabulous news. I'll be getting excited as a manic NFL fan over this trial. That means lots of viable captive Asians for generations going forward.
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It’s certainly an encouraging sign. For there to be total confidence in the effectiveness of the vaccine, there needs to be more documented examples documented of success; but Cincinnati’s success gives us all hope.

Also, the vaccine is targeted towards EEHV1A (the most lethal strain in Asian elephants), but there are multiple strains.
 
Zoofan15 said:
It’s certainly an encouraging sign. For there to be total confidence in the effectiveness of the vaccine, there needs to be more documented examples documented of success; but Cincinnati’s success gives us all hope.

Also, the vaccine is targeted towards EEHV1A (the most lethal strain in Asian elephants), but there are multiple strains.
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I think they're prioritizing on working on Asians as the most lethal strain tends to affect them more easily than Africans and Asians have had more EEHV deaths. l
Looking at rhe article, they seem to have an in-house EEHV lab to prepare for calves getting infected. All the breeding facilities should have one just in case, but rn i think the only other asian facilities with them are Columbus ABQ and Smithsonianor.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Success in EEHV vaccine trial:

A very encouraging step in the vaccine trial:

Groundbreaking Vaccine Helps Young Elephants at Cincinnati Zoo Overcome Deadly Virus - Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
https://cincinnatizoo.org/groundbre...ants-at-cincinnati-zoo-overcome-deadly-virus/
We are happy to share that the world’s first mRNA vaccine against Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) appears to be effective. Sanjay and Kabir, two young male elephants at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden who were vaccinated in 2024 and later tested positive for EEHV, are now testing negative.

See link for full article.
Click to expand...

That is very fortunate. USA does not have any Upali sons and Kabir is especially valuable as none of the USA cows are related to him. Sanjay has somewhat distant relatives at Columbus and at ALS through Alexander.

Now they are immune to EEHV, onwards young men.
 
The Horse Boy said:
I think they're prioritizing on working on Asians as the most lethal strain tends to affect them more easily than Africans and Asians have had more EEHV deaths. l
Looking at rhe article, they seem to have an in-house EEHV lab to prepare for calves getting infected. All the breeding facilities should have one just in case, but rn i think the only other asian facilities with them are Columbus ABQ and Smithsonianor.
Click to expand...

Any zoo with a modern lab will be able to detect EEHV. The thing is know what to look for under the microscope and sharing information, obtaining plasma, storing it as well vaccines.
 
ZCChip said:
Any zoo with a modern lab will be able to detect EEHV. The thing is know what to look for under the microscope and sharing information, obtaining plasma, storing it as well vaccines.
Click to expand...

Overseas at Werribee Open Range Zoo, EEHV testing is done on site, with a six hour turn around for results.

As we now know, identifying EEHV outbreaks in the blood before symptoms are even present is critical to the calf’s chance of survival. It’s saddening to read so many cases from years past of calves presenting with symptoms, at which point it was too late to enact any effective treatment.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Overseas at Werribee Open Range Zoo, EEHV testing is done on site, with a six hour turn around for results.

As we now know, identifying EEHV outbreaks in the blood before symptoms are even present is critical to the calf’s chance of survival. It’s saddening to read so many cases from years past of calves presenting with symptoms, at which point it was too late to enact any effective treatment.
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lets hope Chester Zoo is well prepared now! (Thinking of the UK friends).

It used to be looking in the mouth and seeing the sores. Poor calves had to suffer before passing.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Success in EEHV vaccine trial:

A very encouraging step in the vaccine trial:

Groundbreaking Vaccine Helps Young Elephants at Cincinnati Zoo Overcome Deadly Virus - Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
https://cincinnatizoo.org/groundbre...ants-at-cincinnati-zoo-overcome-deadly-virus/
We are happy to share that the world’s first mRNA vaccine against Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) appears to be effective. Sanjay and Kabir, two young male elephants at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden who were vaccinated in 2024 and later tested positive for EEHV, are now testing negative.

See link for full article.
Click to expand...
Absolutely amazing news, especially for zoos in the future which have or will have several young calves in the next few years, this is really good!
 
ZCChip said:
That is very fortunate. USA does not have any Upali sons and Kabir is especially valuable as none of the USA cows are related to him. Sanjay has somewhat distant relatives at Columbus and at ALS through Alexander.

Now they are immune to EEHV, onwards young men.
Click to expand...
Although the results are promising, I wouldn’t call them immune. EEHV is something that is always in their system as it’s a herpes virus. It waits to show its ugly head when the viral load booms and becomes too much for their immune system to handle. Several zoos have experienced flare ups more than once with two calves to my knowledge having 3 blips and one of them coming within inches of deaths door even with early detection and treatment.

As it stands many in the community aren’t looking at this as a cure but more as a tool to fight it. We’ve come to except that even with the vaccine it’s bound to still impact our herds but it’ll be another weapon in our arsenal to fight back. Hopefully it stalls the onset of more severe symptoms that all but spell out death and allows the longer application of treatment options like hydration and antivirals.

Very positive signs, but still an uphill battle! Finger crossed though.
 
E Maximus said:
Although the results are promising, I wouldn’t call them immune. EEHV is something that is always in their system as it’s a herpes virus. It waits to show its ugly head when the viral load booms and becomes too much for their immune system to handle. Several zoos have experienced flare ups more than once with two calves to my knowledge having 3 blips and one of them coming within inches of deaths door even with early detection and treatment.

As it stands many in the community aren’t looking at this as a cure but more as a tool to fight it. We’ve come to except that even with the vaccine it’s bound to still impact our herds but it’ll be another weapon in our arsenal to fight back. Hopefully it stalls the onset of more severe symptoms that all but spell out death and allows the longer application of treatment options like hydration and antivirals.

Very positive signs, but still an uphill battle! Finger crossed though.
Click to expand...


EEHV is a virus, similar to a cold or COVID or flu for humans like you and I. I know there are at least two strains of EEHV. It is like chicken pox, once you have it you cannot have it again because your body have developed the antibodies for it. But you can still get shingles which is somewhat alike to chicken pox. Once you have shingles, you are autoimmune to it as well. We get sick with cold every now and then because there are many cold viruses out there. The scary thing about viruses is that they are constantly changing. So, I am sure we will learn of a new EEHV strain sometime. Learned in biology in college and my professor was big on avian influenza. :) A whole chapter devoted to viruses.

The vaccines have antibodies in it, so the elephants could show a positive test as their body responds to the vaccine. If you have received a COVID vaccine, you would not feel good for a couple days because of your body creating antibodies and responding in accordance to the vaccine.

The flareups may be due to an underlying persisting virus that the body never completed the healing, or a secondary virus. We do not know at this point as we are still in the early stages.

yes vaccines will play an important and integral part in developing the elephantss immune system, but if they already have the EEHV the vaccine can not do much. It is only for preventative measures and does not 100% guarantee the elephant will contract EEHV, but it can increase the chance of recovery. Similarly to parvo in dogs, I had a pup come down with parvo even with the vaccination!!!! Her immune system did not absorb the antibodies. That is why we need to do the titre testing (I do this from now on, especially on young dogs). None of my dogs were affected because they had their parvo vaccines. That is why zoos draw blood, they are constantly testing the titre for EEHV.
 
ZCChip said:
EEHV is a virus, similar to a cold or COVID or flu for humans like you and I. I know there are at least two strains of EEHV. It is like chicken pox, once you have it you cannot have it again because your body have developed the antibodies for it. But you can still get shingles which is somewhat alike to chicken pox. Once you have shingles, you are autoimmune to it as well. We get sick with cold every now and then because there are many cold viruses out there. The scary thing about viruses is that they are constantly changing. So, I am sure we will learn of a new EEHV strain sometime. Learned in biology in college and my professor was big on avian influenza. :) A whole chapter devoted to viruses.

The vaccines have antibodies in it, so the elephants could show a positive test as their body responds to the vaccine. If you have received a COVID vaccine, you would not feel good for a couple days because of your body creating antibodies and responding in accordance to the vaccine.

The flareups may be due to an underlying persisting virus that the body never completed the healing, or a secondary virus. We do not know at this point as we are still in the early stages.

yes vaccines will play an important and integral part in developing the elephantss immune system, but if they already have the EEHV the vaccine can not do much. It is only for preventative measures and does not 100% guarantee the elephant will contract EEHV, but it can increase the chance of recovery. Similarly to parvo in dogs, I had a pup come down with parvo even with the vaccination!!!! Her immune system did not absorb the antibodies. That is why we need to do the titre testing (I do this from now on, especially on young dogs). None of my dogs were affected because they had their parvo vaccines. That is why zoos draw blood, they are constantly testing the titre for EEHV.
Click to expand...
There are four strains of EEHV that can infect Asian elephants EEHV1A, 1B, 4 and 5. The one that kills the most is 1A however they can die from any strain. Yes it’s similar to chicken pox in that they’re both herpesvirus however it differs in that chicken can not be reactivated once an infected individual has successfully fought off the virus. EEHV however establishes a lifelong viral infection and just remains dormant(latent) and can become reactive causing illness again at any point once the viral load overwhelms the immune system. I’d compare it to tuberculosis (yes I know that’s a bacteria). They are very similar in how they infect elephants. If it becomes an active infection and is fought off, it just goes dormant and if the right circumstances(typically stress induced) happen again that same strain can cause illness again especially during times of stress.

The reason they pushed for a vaccine for EEHV1A is because it’s not only the one that kills the most, it’s also the one that has reactivated the most post initial infection. There are several studies(I have been lucky enough to have participated in them) that show that elephants who carry EEHV1 tend to shed it the most and in extremely high viral loads which is why they think it’s the most fatal. The calves in the herds can’t handle the constant recurrence of the virus. They often fall ill while under 3 years old and because of the constant shedding they’re exposed to the viral loads becomes too high and it’s reactivated before their at an age where they’ve built up the proper immune response of an adult. African herds are even worse with even adults have the virus reactivate with their respective strains and cause illness well into their 30’s and 40’s. It’s just often times not fatal, but is still clinically an EEHV infection.
 
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E Maximus said:
There are four strains of EEHV that can infect Asian elephants EEHV1A, 1B, 4 and 5. The one that kills the most is 1A however they can die from any strain. Yes it’s similar to chicken pox in that they’re both herpesvirus however it differs in that chicken can not be reactivated once an infected individual has successfully fought off the virus. EEHV however establishes a lifelong viral infection and just remains dormant(latent) and can become reactive causing illness again at any point once the viral load overwhelms the immune system. I’d compare it to tuberculosis (yes I know that’s a bacteria). They are very similar in how they infect elephants. If it becomes an active infection and is fought off, it just goes dormant and if the right circumstances happen again that same strain can cause illness again especially during times of stress.

The reason they pushed for a vaccine for EEHV1A is because it’s not only the one that kills the most, it’s also the one that has reactivated the most post initial infection. There are several studies(I have been lucky enough to have participated in them) that show that elephants who carry EEHV1 tend to shed it the most and in extremely high viral loads which is why they think it’s the most fatal. The calves in the herds can’t handle the constant recurrence of the virus. They often fall ill while under 3 years old and because of the constant shedding they’re exposed to the viral loads becomes too high and it’s reactivated before their at an age where they’ve built up the proper immune response of an adult. African herds are even worse with even adults have the virus reactivate with their respective strains and cause illness well into their 30’s and 40’s. It’s just often times not fatal, but is still clinically an EEHV infection.
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Very good information. and correct. You have broadened what I am saying with this post as well. They are all different. Where are you getting the research? So, we all can keep learning.
 
ZCChip said:
Very good information. and correct. You have broadened what I am saying with this post as well. They are all different. Where are you getting the research? So, we all can keep learning.
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Hands on experience and networking. Places I’ve worked participated in the studies so we all get to read the research as it was happening. I believe many of them are posted on most research sites or school resource centers if you’re students. Veterinary journals have posted a couple of them as well. As for the other knowledge, when you have first hand experience with watching a calf fall ill and fade before your eye’s as you do everything in your power to help them… you start asking questions and researching everything you can.
 
E Maximus said:
As for the other knowledge, when you have first hand experience with watching a calf fall ill and fade before your eye’s as you do everything in your power to help them… you start asking questions and researching everything you can.
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That is heart breaking. I hated the episode on the Chester Zoo where two calves died in a short distance of each other.

I wish we could discuss EEHV and the structure more on here but that is probably considered off topic. I am enthralled by the biology of viruses and bacteria because of my influence
 
E Maximus said:
Despite what the post states, it seems Tina and Billy have begun physical intros to the Tulsa herd! Amazing to see them integrated so quickly!! Amazing things are happening at the Tulsa zoo.

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Do they plan to integrate the three bulls all together with the females or will they remain separate from each other? Either way, glad to see the introductions working out well!
 
Nile Hippo Expert said:
Do they plan to integrate the three bulls all together with the females or will they remain separate from each other? Either way, glad to see the introductions working out well!
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I was wondering the same thing. It would not hurt to try since the bulls are older and seem to be quite mellow? No cute girls around that will compete for them.

Fun fact: Betty Boop/Booper and Hank would be already familiar with each other. I would not be surprised if Tina already knows Betty Boop and Hank if she had stopped over at Riddles in Arkansas or traveled with Booper on the road as circus elephants.
 
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