An elephant at a zoo on Bali, Indonesia, was found dead on Tuesday after being swept away by a strong river current.
Molly, a 45-year-old female Sumatran elephant, was one of two elephants being guided by a mahout across a river to a holding area outside the zoo on Monday afternoon. This was part of their routine for mental and physical stimulation.
While the first elephant successfully crossed, Molly was still in the river when the current suddenly intensified due to heavy rainfall upstream, according to the zoo’s statement.
The statement explained that Molly lost her balance and was carried away by the current. The mahout, fortunately, was unharmed.
A search effort was launched by the Bali Zoo and the Bali Natural Resources Conservation Agency, and Molly’s body was discovered Tuesday morning in the Cengceng river, located in the Sukawati subdistrict of Gianyar district, Bali.
“The entire team at Bali Zoo is heartbroken by the loss of Molly, a female elephant who was a beloved member of our zoo family. Molly was known for her gentle and friendly nature,” the zoo stated.
“This was an unfortunate incident, but we are dedicated to thoroughly reviewing our operational procedures and risk management strategies, particularly during the rainy season, to ensure the safety of all our animals moving forward,” said Emma Chandra, the zoo’s head of public relations.
Seasonal rains from October to March often lead to flooding and landslides in Indonesia, a country made up of 17,000 islands.
Sumatran elephants, a critically endangered species, have fewer than 700 individuals left on the island of Sumatra. This subspecies of the Asian elephant, one of the two types of the world’s largest mammal, is protected by Indonesian law aimed at conserving biological resources and ecosystems.