Officials say a young elephant has died unexpectedly at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
The zoo said in a statement that 4-year-old Asian elephant Malee died early Thursday. The zoo says zookeepers noticed that Malee was moving slower than normal on Wednesday, but the elephant was eating and acting normal otherwise.
Zookeepers noticed discoloration in the elephant's mouth at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and began treating Malee for elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus, though that has not been confirmed as the animal's cause of death.
The zoo says Malee's condition quickly deteriorated and she died at about 4 a.m. Thursday. A necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
Malee was the first elephant born at the Oklahoma City Zoo.
