In August 2024, 4-year-old Asian elephant Riva died at Chester Zoo in the UK, just weeks after her mother Sundara’s passing, marking the thirty-second elephant death there. 

On August 27, the zoo announced Riva died under general anesthetic after anomalies were found in her blood. One month earlier, her mother Sundara Hi Way died at just 20 years old from a twisted colon. Stress is often attributed to the onset of physical and mental disease. Even if the zoo eventually determines that Riva had a medical problem, it is very likely the stress of losing her mother at such a tender age played a part in her demise. These two untimely deaths also leave Indali, one of the zoo’s three surviving elephants, to suffer the loss of her mother and little sister. This is the ongoing tragedy of breeding in zoos.

This story is also reminiscent of one at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. Dame Daphne Sheldrick, the cofounder of this famed elephant orphanage had just rescued one of her first young elephants. The little calf was in distress from seeing her mother killed. She clung to Sheldrick and adopted her as her surrogate mother. She followed Daphne all around the orphanage, never leaving her side. But one day, Sheldrick had to go away for an extended period of weeks. When she returned she was met with the sad news that in her absence the little calf had died. There was no medical reason. Sheldrick immediately attributed it to too much emotional pain for the little elephant to bear. She died of a broken heart.

Riva's loss was also no doubt too heavy for her to bear. This is the tragic consequence of breeding in captivity. It is usually the mothers who endure the loss of their babies, as so many die at early ages in zoos. Being older, the mothers have the mental and physical capacity to withstand the loss. A four-year-old is more susceptible to the trauma of grief.

With this death, which follows 32 others at this zoo, including many under 5, we now add the tragedy of a broken heart to the list of dangers and deprivations that elephants face in zoos. RIP Riva. You never had a chance to live in a matriarchal family and enjoy a long life with your mother, aunties, and cousins as you would have in the wilds of your home country. We urge Chester Zoo to send its three remaining elephants Indali, Anjan, and Maya to sanctuary and join the 37 zoos that have closed their elephant exhibits. It is time for zoos to move past breaking hearts to mending lives.

To learn more about how zoos harm elephants, visit our annual list of 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants.