St. Louis Zoo's elephant 'Rani' dies after a dog enters restricted area

In a heartbreaking turn of events, a 27-year-old female Asian elephant named Rani, classified as endangered, collapsed and tragically passed away at the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri.

The incident occurred on Friday, October 13, following a disturbance caused by a loose dog within the zoo premises.

According to reports, the elephant succumbed approximately 20 minutes after the dog was spotted in a restricted area near the Elephant Barn.


Although the dog was promptly apprehended and transferred to a shelter, its presence caused agitation among the elephants. Rani, who was indoors enjoying her meal at the time and did not directly encounter the dog, became distressed upon hearing the vocalizations of her herd, as reported by the Saint Louis Zoo.

The zoo stated, "They saw Rani circle and vocalize, all within a very brief period, before collapsing." Despite immediate emergency efforts by the Elephant Care and Animal Health teams, they were unable to revive her.

Preliminary findings from a necropsy, conducted by the zoo's pathologist, indicated some pre-existing cardiac changes in Rani. Further analysis is underway to ascertain the significance of these observations.

Katie Pilgram-Kloppe, Zoological Manager of River’s Edge said Rani had unique vocalization during family interactions, a trait that her daughter Jade has also adopted.

Rani, a mother to Jade, Kenzi, and Avi, was the daughter of Ellie. Raja, the Zoo’s bull elephant, was the father to both Rani and Ellie’s offspring. Rani and Ellie joined the Saint Louis Zoo in July 2001, at ages 5 and 29 respectively, following a recommendation by the AZA Asian Elephant Species Survival Plan.