(IN): Giraffe dies after crash

May 25, 2008

Giraffe dies after crash

A STAFF REPORTER

Calcutta, May 24: A giraffe whose neck struck a roadside pole on the way from

Alipore zoo to Orissa’s Nandankanan died after waiting for proper treatment for

more than 12 hours as officials couldn’t decide whether to carry on or return.

The accident took place early on Friday near Bagnan in Howrah, and Sundar, the

strapping 11-year-old male, might have survived had its escorts decided fast to

go back to Calcutta, a couple of hours’ drive from the spot.

They did return to Alipore, but about 4 in the afternoon after the directors of

the two zoos had a talk over the phone. Some five-and-a-half hours later, about

9.30, Sundar was dead.

“When it left, it was hale and hearty. We have sent the body for a post-mortem,”

Alipore zoo director Subir Chowdhury said.

The four-member team, which had arrived from Nandankanan to take the

Calcutta-born giraffe as part of an exchange programme, had left around 11.30 on

Thursday night.

Near Bagnan, Sundar — in a wooden crate atop a trailer, its long neck sticking

out — suddenly let out a shrill cry. Its neck had hit a pole. “The animal

collapsed in the crate and was in pain,” Chowdhury said.

A Calcutta zoo official said a vet, who was part of the team, attended to the

injury. “But things didn’t seem to work.”

Around noon on Friday, the official said, Alipore zoo authorities got a call

from Nandankanan. “Officials from Nandankanan called us asking whether the

giraffe could be treated at our hospital since it was technically their

property. We told them it could be treated at our hospital and it was decided

they would return to Calcutta.” But by then, it was too late.

Sundar’s death — giraffes usually live around 25 years in the wild and longer in

captivity — has also raised questions about the mode of transport used.

“Ideally, a giraffe should be transported with a movable ceiling, lots of

ventilation, and enough space to allow it to turn, lie down or stand,” said

Sanat Das, a former conservator of forests.

Zoo officials said the crate Sundar was being transported in was not comfortable

for an eight-to-10-hour journey.

Azam

United against elephant polo

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