Exotic Incident #1540
Incident Date:
06/29/2010
Location:
Peoria, IL - USA
Facility Name:
Peoria Zoo
Facility Type:
Accredited AZA Facility (AZA)
Incident Category:
Injury to animal (IN)
Species:
Other
Animal:
Giraffe
Animal disposition:
Dead
Summary:
One ofthe two young male giraffes in the Peoria Zoo’s Africa! exhibit died in its outdoor enclosure in a strange accident in front of a large crowd of visitors, including children.
The giraffe was eating leaves froma tree on te other side of an internal 4-foot fence in the enclsoure when its head and neck got caught in the fork of the tree. The animal struggled some but couldn’t dislodge its head. Somehow the movements of the 15-foot tall giraffe flipped its body onto the opposite side of the fence with its head still stuck in the tree. Zoo officials were able to extract his head while he was still alive, but the giraffe stopped breathing 5 to 10 minutes later.
Action take by Born Free USA:
Notes: