Bhubaneswar: The five-year-old male giraffe that was brought to Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) here from Alipore Zoo in Kolkata five days ago died under mysterious conditions Monday morning.
The death of the giraffe, Joy, left NZP authorities in shock and raised questions about healthcare facilities provided to animals at this zoo. The arrival of Joy at NZP February 24 had met with enthusiastic response with newspapers splashing large pictures of the sporty animal. With the death of Joy, NZP is left with just another giraffe – a four-year-old female named Khushi.
NZP sources said Joy suddenly collapsed after taking his breakfast and did not respond to treatment by veterinarians for about two hours. He died at around 10:50 am. A preliminary investigation suggested heart attack as a possible reason for Joy’s death, while some experts suspected that the giraffe might be suffering from jaundice and having anaemia. A three-member team at OUAT conducted an autopsy on Joy’s body. The autopsy report will come in a few days, said sources.
“The giraffe died suddenly. There was no symptom of any illness or disease in him. After taking breakfast, he appeared normal. Then he suddenly collapsed. Our team of doctors tried to revive him, but our best efforts failed,” said NZP deputy director Jayanta Dash.
He termed Joy’s death as a “huge loss” for NZP. “It is the second time a giraffe brought from Alipore Zoo through an animal exchange programme has died. We gave four white tigers to Alipore Zoo in exchange of Joy,” added Dash.
A high-level inquiry committee has been set up to investigate the death of the giraffe and circumstances before it. “A proper investigation will be conducted. We will also question the Alipore Zoo authorities regarding this,” said Dash.
In 2008, NZP had given 24 animals to Alipore Zoo in exchange for a giraffe as part of an animal exchange programme. That giraffe had died by electrocution after coming into contact with an overhead cable on its way to NZP from Kolkata. PNN
