LANA MUTHLER lmuthler@lockhaven.com FILE – Bryan Oberc, Munster, Ind., tries out an AR-15 from Sig Sauer in the exhibition hall at the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Saturday, April 27, 2019. Efforts to impose restrictions on firearms will soon have a supporter in the White House. But it’s unlikely that big ticket items gun-control advocates have pined for will have much chance of passage given the tight margins in Congress and the increased polarization over gun issues. Much has changed in the past 12 years: more Americans own firearms and there are more AR-platform firearms in the civilian market. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Credit Rosamond Gifford Zoo The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is mourning the sudden death of its youngest elephant calf to a lethal strain of herpes that targets Asian elephants. The calf named Ajay (ah-JYE) would have turned two in January. Staff were treating his older brother Batu after a blood sample tested positive for Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus, or EEHV, but he had no symptoms. At the same time they monitored Ajay, who didn’t show any symptoms until within a few hours of his death.
The virus is believed to be naturally occurring in a latent form that can become active without warning. It s the biggest killer of young Asian elephants, and can cause death in under 24 hours. Zoo Director Ted Fox says in a release that Monday night, Ajay was playful and happy as usual. But by Tuesday morning, there was swelling around his eyes and seemed tired.