Demise of 2 Giraffes Causes Huge Gap in IGZP Animal Family

Visakhapatnam: A twelve-and-a-half-year-old male giraffe named Beacon passed away due to illness at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) here on Monday.

Beacon had been under treatment for the past one year, but his condition steadily deteriorated.

The post-mortem report from the veterinary assistant surgeon of IGZP revealed that it suffered from cardiopulmonary failure. Beacon was brought to Visakhapatnam from the Negara Zoo in Malaysia in 2013 when it was four months old.

Before Beacon, a 10-year-old female giraffe named May passed away due to illness at the IGZP on May 17, 2023. May was under treatment for three months and died due to chronic metritis and pneumonia. Both giraffes were important animals that used to eminently grab the attention of the zoo visitors.

The demise of the giraffes created a huge gap in the IGZP animal family. Generally, the average lifespan of a giraffe in most Indian zoos is around 15-17 years.

IGZP Curator IFS Dr Nandani Salaria says: “We made every possible effort to treat the animal. Regular diagnosis, testing, specific treatment and consultation with experts were being done regularly. Timely reports on the health status of giraffes are sent to the higher authorities and guidance is taken.”

In addition to zoo doctors, other veterinary experts used to visit the zoo to provide better treatment to the giraffe. Many national and international expert veterinarians had been consulted for the treatment of the animal.

However, despite all these, the giraffe was losing its health for the past two months, he noted.

The IGZP is expecting the arrival of two giraffes from Alipore Zoo, Kolkata, as such a proposal has been submitted to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).