FELLSMERE – Officials at The National Elephant Center believe salmonella may be to blame for the death of 10-year-old Tufani, an African elephant living with his 5-year-old brother, their mother, and their aunt in Fellsmere.
Earlier this month, Tufani showed signs of what officials took to be colic. They isolated him from the herd and attempted treatment. He didn’t begin to show signs of salmonella until later, according to The National Elephant Center Executive Director John Lehnhardt.
“He may have been a carrier,” Lehnhardt said of Tufani, explaining that the pathologist called in to examine Tufani said the salmonella was quick-acting and aggressive.
The pathologist, according to Lehnhardt, said that once the disease broke, there was nothing that could have been done to spare the elephant.
“This is kind of a freak thing,” Lehnhardt said.
In the days following Tufani’s death, the staff at The National Elephant Center have been taking samples of food and water sources around the property and testing areas Tufani had frequented to determine if something environmental might have caused the disease.
Lehnhardt said the other elephants have shown no symptoms and he – and the pathologist – believe that the salmonella was not environmental.
Salmonella cultures from Tufani will be tested to determine the strain and will be compared with other known strains – or species – of salmonella.
Lehnhardt said there is no way to know if Tufani’s relatives are also carriers of salmonella.
The elephants are the first to arrive to The National Elephant Center and hail from Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Tufani’s survivors include his brother, Tsavo, their mother, Moyo, and her sister, Thandi.
Lehnhardt said the officials there were made aware when Tufani began presenting symptoms. They became involved in Tufani’s treatment, alongside the staff at the center.
Lehnhardt said Tufani’s death is not expected to change the relationship the center and Disney has.
“This is a very unusual circumstance,” Lehnhardt said, adding that Disney understands Tufani’s death was not tied to his care or treatment at the center.
Lehnhardt said he would remember Tufani as a “very dynamic” elephant, very energetic and full of himself. He likened the elephant to his dog, which knows he’s handsome.
“It’s hard,” Lehnhardt said of choosing a favored memory of Tufani.
As for the herd, Lehnhardt said none of the members appear to be searching for or are missing Tufani.
“That was a little surprising,” Lehnhardt said of their reaction. But, he explained, Tufani was getting to the size that young males reach just before being kicked out of the herd to live on their own.
A few inches shorter than his mom, Moyo, and weighing 1,500 to 2,000 pounds less, Tufani and his herd were already preparing for his departure, according to Lehnhardt.
Like the herd, Lehnhardt said The National Elephant Center needs to move forward after gleaning the information it can from Tufani.
“We’re pushing on,” Lehnhardt said.
