The Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) on Sunday lost a young male giraffe in a freak accident after its neck got stuck inside the kraal. Three-and-a-half-year-old 'Yadunandhan' died of asphyxiation, officials said.
The BBP had struggled to acquire a giraffe for almost a decade and had gone as far as the Pafos zoo in Cyprus, but in vain. Finally, it was gifted with a pair of giraffes — Gowri in 2018 and Yadunandhan in 2020 — by the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Garden, Mysuru. But the joy of animal lovers and conservationists turned out to be short-lived, with Yadunandhan meeting a tragic end on Sunday.
As zookeepers and other staff at the BBP were attending to the Sunday crowd, Yadunandhan sneaked into the treatment area near the kraal, where its neck got trapped.
Vanashree Vipin Singh, executive director of BBP, told DH that veterinarians and keepers rushed to the spot to help the struggling animal. "He was unable to withdraw his neck due to the horns. When our veterinarians got him out, the heartbeat was low and the pulse was constantly dropping. Despite our best efforts, he could not be saved," Singh said. Due to panic and forced withdrawal, Yadunandhan also suffered injuries in the upper and lower neck.
"He arrived in BBP in 2020 to join five-year-old Gowri, which was also brought from Mysuru. Recently, we had introduced a feeding system to help the pair eat without straining their necks and constantly bending. But a freak accident took him from us," said a staffer.
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(Published 19 September 2021, 19:08 IST)
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