(IN) Giraffe death : Hindustan Times report

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OIPA INDIA demands the FIR against the Zoo Director,

regards,

Naresh Kadyan

 

On Mon, May 26, 2008 at 4:05 PM, <

journalistandanimals wrote:

 

> *Hindustan Times,Kolkata edition, Kolkata Live, 26 May, 2008*

>

> Triple shock killed giraffe on way to Orissa

>

> HT Correspondent

>

> Kolkata, May 25

>

> Imagine suffering an electric shock of just 220 volts from the switchboard

> in your home. Now, imagine receiving a shock of 132 kilovolts at least

> three

> times from a high voltage overhead wire. This is exactly what happened to

> Sundar.

>

> The male giraffe, who died on his way to Nandankanan, received electrical

> shock of 132 kilovolts at least three timesbefore he collapsed, injuring

> his

> knees. However, Sundar survived in agony for at least 21 hours before death

> came as a relief.

>

> Instead of contacting zoo officials right away, the team accompanying

> Sundar

> had tried to attend to the giraffe. By the time it was decided to take the

> animal back to Alipore Zoo, 24 hours had lapsed.

>

> The second lapse was that instead of contacting zoo officials away, the

> team

> tried to attend to the animal all by themselves. The driver drove on in the

> hope that the giraffe would stand up on its own.

>

> Samanta Ray, the veterinary surgeon of Nandankanan Zoo who was leading the

> four-member team for transporting Sundar from Alipore, said: " Our men were

> equipped with bamboo poles to lift overhead wires on the Andul Road.

> Between

> Kolkata and the spot where the accident took place, we had cleared nearly

> 15

> such overhead wires. It was nighttime and we could hardly see. Even though

> we managed to remove some obstacles, at one point there were several

> overhead wires at short intervals. It was here that tragedy struck. One of

> the men lifted a wire and suddenly there was a aspark. The giraffe, which

> had till then been calm, reacted sharply. In the confusion, the men left

> the

> wires and the giraffe received the first shock. Before we could stop the

> vehicle, it moved further and the giraffe was struck twice. "

>

> " The feeding pan made of iron, which was fitted to the cage, also got

> electrified. The giraffe could not withstand the shock and stumbled on his

> knees, sustaining a deep injury on his upper lips and blood started to ooze

> out from his mouth, " Roy said.

>

> But Sundar's death would not go into the records of the Central Zoo

> Authority(CZA). The authority is not taking any interest in this accident

> and there is no question of a probe.

>

> Member secretary of the CZA, B R Sharma, said : " We are concerned with

> Indian endangered animals only. Giraffe is basically an African animal. It

> is a matter of the two zoo authorities. "

>

> Meanwhile, Nandankanan and Alipore Zoo officials are yet to communicate

> among themselves to decide over the fate of the exchange programme. Alipore

> Zoo has already received 22 animals but is yet to receive two hippos from

> Orissa.

>

> The director of Nandankanan Zoo, A K Pattanaik, said he would enquire from

> zoo authorities in Kolkata about the manner of the death of the animal. He

> said that some monkeys and birds had already reached Alipore and the

> giraffe

> was supposed to reach Nandankanan on Saturday or Sunday. " There are a lot

> of

> fomalities before we go forward with the exchange programme. It is a great

> loss as we were looking forward to our first giraffe. "

of Alipore Zoo Subir Choudhury, however expressed surprise at the

> death by electrocution, saying if the giraffe had indeed been electrocuted,

> it would not have survived for 24 hours.

>

> Speaking to Hindustan Times on Saturday, Choudhury said, " Legally speaking,

> as the giraffe died in the custody of the Nandankanan team, we are not

> responsible for the death of the animal and should get the hippos promised

> to us. "

 

 

--

Naresh Kadyan,

OIPA Representative for INDIA,

http://oipa-india.blogspot.com/

Convener, INTERNATIONAL PFA / INTERNATIONAL SPCA,

http://nareshkadyan.blogspot.com/,

Mobile - +91-9813010595

- +91- 9313312099