Ukraine prosecutors are probing the suspected poisoning of a 40-year-old Asian elephant called Boy who dropped dead at Kiev zoo, officials said on Tuesday.
"All of a sudden, the animal fell over" in front of visitors, and two minutes later he was dead, zoo managers said of the pachyderm's mysterious demise on Monday.
Kiev prosecutors quoted by the Interfax agency said they had opened a probe into the death, after zoo officials suspected poisoning.
"Boy was poisoned, there's no doubt," veterinary official Oleg Melnik told the local Kievskie Vedomosti daily after taking part in the autopsy. "We will know what poison was used in a few days." - Sapa-AFP