It is with heavy hearts this morning that we write. Our elephant calf Nisha died from the elephant herpesvirus in the early hours of Dec. 1. Her zookeepers and the adult female elephants were with her in the elephant barn throughout the night.
While there were a few positive signs yesterday, Nisha's condition deteriorated rapidly throughout Friday evening.
Our elephant keepers and everyone here at Dickerson Park Zoo are deeply saddened by the loss of Nisha. She was a darling of our community, and many throughout the Ozarks participated in naming her after her birth in 2006 and enjoyed watching her grow up these last 16 months. We know you - our visiting public - will miss her as much as we will.
If you would like to send a message of support to Nisha's keepers, click on the comments link below or send an e-mail.
I'm so sorry. She was beautiful. Our thoughts are with you.
Posted by: Erin | December 01, 2007 at 01:25 PM
We are all so sorry for your loss! We loved her too and she will be greatly missed.
Posted by: Cathy | December 01, 2007 at 03:37 PM
I am so sorry for the loss... Dickerson Zoo, as well as Springfield, has lost a wonderful member of our community.
Posted by: Angie & Jeremy | December 01, 2007 at 04:51 PM
I'm so sorry for all of you. What a sad day.
Posted by: Shirley Gilmore | December 01, 2007 at 05:07 PM
I am really sorry to hear about Nisha, we will miss her when visiting the zoo, she was one of my grandsons favorite's. My thoughts are with you.
Posted by: Chris P. Volunteer | December 01, 2007 at 05:40 PM