Giraffe's weight not a factor
The Greater Vancouver Zoo says it has ruled out diet and cold in the death of 12-year-old Jafari
Jafari died at the zoo on Nov. 4.
Photograph by: Submitted photo , for Langley Advance
The Greater Vancouver Zoo said that Jafari, the 12-year-old giraffe that died earlier this month, was not underweight.
One possibility for the premature death of the young animal was 'peracute mortality syndrome,' a lack of body fat combined with a cold climate.
However, preliminary results from a necropsy show this was not the case with Jafari, the zoo said.
"Jafari was in excellent body condition with ample body fat stores," said Dr. Himsworthan, a veterinary pathologist, in a statement released by the zoo.
His diet included browser pellets, alfalfa and a wide variety of trees, the zoo said.
Testing is ongoing from samples taken from Jafari, the statement said.
The zoo also released a timeline of Jafari's discovery on Sunday, Nov. 4.
He was found collapsed at 7: 30 a.m., and Dr. Bruce Burton, the zoo's vet arrived by 8 a.m. along with a zoo animal health technician.
Jafari was found inside his heated barn. Two years ago, a giraffe at Mountain View Conservation Centre, an unrelated facility in Langley, died of peracute mortality. The giraffe was found to have a lack of abdominal fat, and a sudden cold snap apparently killed the young animal.
The death of that giraffe, along with the death of another giraffe around the same time, led to an SPCA investigation, although no charges were laid.
Mountain View announced in the spring of 2010 that it was moving all its exotic animals to other facilities, and concentrating on endangered or threatened North American animals.
The SPCA is currently investigating the death of Jafari. The agency accused the zoo of not cooperating in handing over all the information they had asked for, although preliminary autopsy results had been received.
The deaths of other giraffes at the zoo has not resulted in any charges.
There is one remaining giraffe at the zoo, a young male named Pompy, who was brought in earlier this year as a companion for Jafari.
The zoo has received a number of condolences from members of the public over the death of Jafari, the zoo said.
