DALLAS — The Dallas Zoo is mourning over the loss of one of its beloved elephants.

The zoo said its almost 7-year-old African elephant Ajabu died on Monday after a 12-day battle with a viral infection known as elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV). This was his second fight with this insidious disease. Ajabu previously had an EEHV infection in March 2021 and survived.

Despite the care of veterinary teams over the last 12 days, Ajabu laid down in the barn on the evening of Monday, May 8 for the last time.

Ajabu’s active case initially showed up on Thursday, April 27, during the course of routine blood testing conducted on the entire elephant herd. Ajabu’s sample revealed a slightly elevated EEHV viral load. Though he showed no physical signs or symptoms of EEHV, the team immediately began aggressive treatment to stem the progression of the virus.

EEHV is carried naturally by African and Asian elephants and affects elephants living in the wild, as well as in human care. It is an all-too-often lethal disease that is most severe in young elephants from age 1 into the animal’s teenage years. While it is most often diagnosed in Asian elephants, it has shown up more often in African elephants, the species at the Dallas Zoo.