An Asian elephant given to Fukuoka by the city of Yangon under a friendship program has died at a zoo in the Japanese city after being infected with a herpesvirus, city officials said Tuesday.
The 12-year-old female elephant, one of the four that arrived in Japan from Myanmar in late July, tested positive earlier this month for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, the officials said, adding the virus can be lethal for the giant animal.
(Photo courtesy of the city of Fukuoka)
Provided by Kyodo News
The elephant died as Fukuoka Zoo was preparing to open public viewing of the animals provided from Yangon under their sister-city partnership. The officials of the Japanese city said none of the remaining three has any health problems.
Most Asian elephants are believed to be potentially infected with the virus, which can also be relatively benign, but the female elephant died as her immune system apparently weakened after she got sick, according to the officials.
The city received the elephants through multiyear consultations with Yangon after the Asian elephant Hanako died at the zoo in 2017, at the presumed age of 46.
In June this year, a group of Myanmar residents of Japan expressed their opposition to the program, saying it would benefit the military-led government of the Southeast Asian country that continued to suppress some citizens.