Forty-eight hours after Kenya’s death, the elephant, which arrived from the former Mendoza Zoo, the Brazilian sanctuary where it had been since last July, issued a statement providing details Preliminary autopsy of the animal.
Furthermore, the Elephant sanctuary in Brazil also presented the preliminary report of the autopsy of Pupy, the other specimen that died in this room in Mato Grosso last October after being transferred from the Buenos Aires Ecopark.
“Although we have communicated that there does not appear to be a connection between the two deaths, some people continue to express doubts. Because our goal is transparency, we often share much more information than a zoo or other protected area would share, and in this case we feel the weight of those expectations more than ever,” the organization reasoned.
The report begins with the autopsy of Pupy, who she says was “rfound that between 30 and 40% of his lungs were invaded by a species of amoeba that caused abscesses and pneumonia. The pathologist pointed out that it was unusual for an amoeba to affect the lungs. “So if it is observed, it is almost certainly an immunocompromised body.”
It immediately adds: “This amoeba was also found in his intestines and is believed to have entered the lungs.” Along with the amoeba found in the intestines, there was also an infiltration of protozoa throughout his entire digestive system, resulting in… severe gastritis“.
Now approx Autopsy in Kenya It was stated: “His body offers a textbook picture of the effects of captivity. X-rays immediately made it clear that he had one severe osteomyelitiswith the absence of the last digit on most of the toes of the paws as well as the second digit of the outer toe on the front paws. The elbow that was causing him discomfort and showing severe signs of dysfunction showed chronic joint damage with abnormal synovial fluid, which will be analyzed.”
The report continues: “There were Nodules, ulcers, a large cyst and other problems affecting various organs in your abdominal cavity. But the biggest problem was in the lungs, which the pathologist pointed out – relying on photos he provided to a large animal veterinarian tuberculosis. The disease was very advanced, with granular infiltrates in both lungs and alveolar collapse. All macroscopic findings with medical relevance were taken into account chronic problems, That means it was something he had lived with before arriving in Brazil.”
It is with deep sadness that we would like to express our pain over the deaths of the African elephants Pupy and Kenya. Part of our quest is to create a sense of connection between you and the elephants, but sometimes that means sharing difficult times, not just the happy ones. We know that there are those who support the sanctuary who understand the terrible effects of captivity and recognize that the elephants at the Brazilian Elephant Sanctuary receive a level of medical care not found anywhere else in South America. We also know that there are people who don’t know us that well and have questions. In addition, there are those who seem to celebrate the deaths of captive elephants in protected areas, as this gives them the opportunity to launch or strengthen propaganda campaigns against the establishment of the protected area and those who work to promote it. That’s why we’re going to do something we don’t normally do: share preliminary information from Pupy and Kenya’s autopsies.
Due to the length of time samples and cultures must be examined, autopsies naturally take months. For this reason, two tests from Pupy’s autopsy are still pending. Weather will also play a role in Kenya’s results, as the university laboratory conducting the analysis is already closed for the holidays and will not process any of its samples until January (until then they will be properly stored). Although we have reported that there appears to be no connection between the two deaths, some people continue to express doubts. Because we strive for transparency, we often share much more information than a zoo or other protected area, and in this case we feel the weight of those expectations more than ever.
Pupy’s autopsy revealed that between 30 and 40 percent of his lungs were invaded by a species of amoeba that caused abscesses and pneumonia. The pathologist pointed out that it was unusual for an amoeba to affect the lungs. So if it is observed, it is almost certainly an immunocompromised body. This amoeba was also found in his intestines and is believed to have invaded his lungs. In addition to the amoebas found in the intestines, there was also an infiltration of protozoa throughout his digestive system, resulting in severe gastritis. Pupy’s stool samples had been tested and sent to two different laboratories before his death, and the results were always normal. Other tests were also done, but none of them provided a diagnosis of what he was going through.
The autopsy in Kenya was completely different. His body offers a textbook picture of the effects of captivity. X-rays immediately revealed that he had severe osteomyelitis, with the last finger missing from most of his toes and the second finger of the outer toe from his front paws. The elbow that was causing him discomfort and showing severe signs of dysfunction showed chronic joint damage with abnormal synovial fluid, which will be analyzed. There were nodules, ulcers, a large cyst, and other problems affecting various organs in his abdominal cavity. The most serious problem, however, was in the lungs, where the pathologist suggested – relying on photos he had provided to a large animal veterinarian – that tuberculosis was very likely. The disease was very advanced, with granular infiltrates in both lungs and alveolar collapse. All of the medically relevant macroscopic findings were chronic problems, meaning he had already been living with them before his arrival in Brazil. During Kenya’s time with us, we conducted an extensive battery of blood tests twice, in addition to the stool and urine tests (both normal). The first showed improvement over the sample taken in Mendoza, and the second showed some additional improvement over the first (taken the week she died), but both looked very good for an elephant of her age and were not what one would expect from an animal of Kenya’s internal physical condition.
Both elephants knew before their arrival how impaired their health was, in some cases significantly. Pupy and Kuky (who died before being brought to the sanctuary), who appeared to be many years older than their actual age when we met them, had to take turns being outdoors with Mara, with whom they shared an enclosure at one point, which only exacerbated their morbid obesity. Pupy’s tubal twitching and eye twitching were signs of possible deeper problems. Kenya suffered from chronic diarrhea, poor nutrition, chronic tusk infections and lack of medical care for decades until we provided trainers and caregivers to care for her. This was his reality before the sanctuary. The elephants of Buenos Aires were very well cared for by loving and dedicated keepers after the old equipment was removed. These people did their best, and we are grateful for that, but none of their efforts could reverse decades of damage and impact to an enclosure that, while historically beautiful, was completely unsuitable for elephants.
We know that when some people hear the word “tuberculosis” in the context of Kenya, it raises concerns about possible Pupy exposure. To date, no tuberculosis test has been performed on Pupy’s samples. His culture is one of the tests still pending, but two other tests for tuberculosis have already been completed and both came back negative. We do not have keepers traveling back and forth between Asian and African habitats, nor is there a point where the habitats intersect. So there is no reason to worry about interspecies transmission. Because human tuberculosis still occurs in both Argentina and Brazil, all of our staff (including maintenance and kitchen) have been tested in the past. Owners and contracted trainers/carers who have been exposed to other elephants must be tested every six months. Initially, the pathology team thought Pupy most likely had something viral, so strict quarantine protocols were put in place. Although this was not the case with Pupy (and therefore preliminary results are not typically shared), the quarantine was maintained because we did not yet have Pupy’s final report.
According to the Mendoza Ecopark statement based on the autopsy of Tamy (who died before her transfer from Kenya), no tuberculosis was detected in her samples. Guillermina, another former Mendoza resident, was tested after the death of her mother Pocha and was negative for both latent and active tuberculosis. In the interest of general health and to ensure continuous and comprehensive medical care, Guille will continue to be examined according to the protocol recommended and used by the Zoological Association.
Due to the medical nature of the questions raised and the sensitivity and specificity of the questions some people may have, we will not respond to questions in the comments. It is difficult to imagine that there are individuals and groups so hostile to the sanctuary movement that they take our words out of context or attempt to distort what is said. We hope that sharing the information we have will at least allay speculation as to whether the deaths of the two elephants are related or due to a lack of proper care. We have no reason to shy away from results because our goal is always to give the elephants the best possible life. The more data we have at our disposal, the better we can care for them and give them the freedom to find themselves that they may never have had otherwise.
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