(IN) Giraffe death : Hindustan Times report

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*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. "