Baby elephant dies just 27 days after birth at St. Louis Zoo

An adorable baby elephant at the St. Louis Zoo has died just 27 days after his birth.

The Asian elephant calf, whose name was Avi, was born with “developmental impairments that limited his ability to feed since birth,” the zoo said.

Zoo officials administered various life-support treatments in hopes of saving the animal, but said they had to euthanize Avi on Sunday after his condition did not improve.

“Everyone here is just devastated right now,” Jeffrey P. Bonner, the zoo’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Our team of professional elephant care experts did everything possible to help improve the calf’s health. Unfortunately, in the end, it just wasn’t enough as his health complications were too severe.”

The care experts frequently gave intravenous treatments to Avi and aided with his feeding.

The young elephant’s condition worsened in the two days leading up to his death, the zoo said.

“The animal care team who worked so closely with this calf every day of his short life, and all those who loved him, are understandably grieving,” Luis Padilla, the zoo’s vice president of animal collections, said in a statement. “Avi will be missed, but never forgotten.”

The zoo had publicly chronicled the pregnancy of Avi’s mother, Rani, in the months leading up to the calf being born.

Elephant pregnancies last 22 months, with the calf typically weighing between 250-300 pounds at birth.