An elephant calf (illustration).
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Henry AUSLOOS / SIPA
His fate moved the country.
A baby elephant just two weeks old died Thursday evening at Borås Zoo in Sweden.
The animal, born March 26, was rejected by its herd after another baby elephant was born on Monday.
“Despite three days of intensive care with a veterinarian and caregivers watching over him day and night, the little animal passed away today.
Her body could not take any more, she had to fall asleep, ”announced the zoo on Instagram, with a photo of caretakers surrounding the animal.
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"The other baby elephant seems alert and awake"
The caregivers explained that they could do nothing against the group's rejection of the baby.
"We are all very sad, but at the same time we try to rejoice that the other elephant seems alert and awake," continued the zoo, which is home to ten African elephants.
Captive births are rare for the species, whose population has declined dramatically in the wild.
50 years ago, around 1.5 million elephants roamed all over Africa but the most recent census of large mammals in 2016, counted only 415,000, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN).
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