Sanook, the 11-month-old Asian elephant calf that became one of Melbourne Zoo's most popular animals, has died after becoming entangled in a favourite toy.

In a statement released this morning, the zoo said CCTV footage revealed Sanook's death was the result of a tragic accident.

"The CCTV footage shows that at 7pm while playing with the tyre, Sanook managed to manoeuvre it in an unusual way that caused his head to become caught," Melbourne Zoo director Kevin Tanner said in the statement.

"This placed pressure on his neck and would have prevented him from breathing. Preliminary post-mortem results confirm this as the cause of death."

Pointing out that tyres are "commonly used around the world in zoos as an approved form of enrichment for elephants", the statement said the toy was one of Sanook's favourites, as it had been for his sister Mali and brother Ongard.

However, Mr Tanner added: "To our knowledge no such accident has taken place previously in any zoo with elephants."

He said the accident has left the zoo's keepers, vets and other staff devastated.

Zoos Victoria earlier today tweeted news of the calf's death, which just yesterday had been playing energetically and suckling from his mother Num-Oi.

It is with great sadness, we announce the passing of Asian Elephant calf Sanook ow.ly/i/3ULas More details: ow.ly/rq9kj — Zoos Victoria (@ZoosVictoria) December 3, 2013

Sanook lived up to his name

Sanook's arrival was well-publicised, with more than 4,000 Victorians voting online to name the baby elephant, according to the Zoos Victoria website.

Sanook weighed 131 kilograms at birth, grew quickly and remained "active and confident". ( Andy Durham: Melbourne Zoo. )

Sanook, which means fun-loving and cheerful in Thai, was the overwhelming favourite, it said.

"He is cheeky, confident and loves a bit of fun so I think Victorians have chosen his name well," Victoria's Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Ryan Smith, said at the time.

Sanook, who would have turned one in January, was the third birth since the arrival of three young elephant cows from Thailand in November 2006, as part of a new Regional Cooperative Conservation Breeding Program for the endangered species.

He weighed 131 kilograms at birth, grew quickly and remained "active and confident, just like his siblings", the website says.

Sanook's death prompted a flood of condolence messages on social media: