Chester Zoo announces the sudden death of an elephant

“Our thoughts are of course with our wonderful elephant keepers who have cared for Sundara since she was born here in 2004,” he said.

Sundara had given birth to three calves.

Mr Christon said the mother, who was in the zoo’s Asian Forest Elephant habitat when she fell ill, “played a vital role in the breeding conservation program for this endangered species”.

A zoo spokesman said the disease can start very quickly and is almost impossible to diagnose or treat in elephants.

Mr Christon said Asian elephants Riva, Indali, Anjan and Maya “remain healthy” and their teams would monitor them all closely “as herd dynamics adjust to this sudden change”.