Zoo looks for new Giraffe

The Director General of the Department of National Zoological gardens Ranjan Marasinghe said that they are planning to acquire a replacement for the recently deceased female Giraffe.

He said that the 30 year old animal was suffering from an ailment in one of its legs and had been having mobility issues.

He added that the giraffe had laid down on Wednesday and refused to get up. Therefore further examining the animal the veterinarians have assumed that the animal might have had an allergic reaction to the medication given to it.

“Animal was given medication for allergies and even preparations were made to lift the animal and stabilize it by using a lifting harness, yet by Thursday afternoon the giraffe expired”, he said.

 Mr Marasinghe added that the post mortem inquiry was held at the zoo by a veterinary surgeon attached to the Department of wildlife conservation and a veterinary surgeon from the faculty of animal sciences at the Peradeniya University.

He added that he is awaiting the report to determine the cause of death of the animal and has even written to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources  Conservation requesting an independent inquiry on the incident.  

He added that the giraffe was one of the two giraffes which were at the Dehiwala Zoological gardens. There were also plans for the National Zoological gardens to acquire a male giraffe.