Peshawar Zoo to receive report on giraffe death cause next week

PESHAWAR: The management of the Peshawar Zoo expects to receive next week the report of the samples of the giraffe which had died at the facility recently.

Acting Director of the zoo, Ishtiaq Wazir, said on Friday the zoo management has not yet submitted the autopsy report to the Wildlife Department.

He said though the internal report had confirmed that it was an infection that led to the death of the animal, the results of the samples were sent to the laboratories in Peshawar and Islamabad to determine the exact cause of the infection. The official said the remaining two giraffes were in good health. However, he said the caretakers could not get any clue to their illness from appearance.

He said the remaining two giraffes were female and the Zoo management would bring a male for them in the future. The official said conditions of Peshawar Zoo was much better than zoos in other parts of the country, adding that recently Pakistan Wildlife Foundation experts had visited the facility and appreciated the animals’ care there. He said most of the experts had admitted that the Peshawar Zoo was better than those in Karachi or Lahore. He said that experts had appreciated the Peshawar Zoo for the animal’s health and wellbeing.

The official said Arabian oryx was a success story of the Peshawar Zoo as it was a vulnerable species.

“The Peshawar Zoo not only introduced the Oryx to Pakistan but it also bred and its offspring were shifted to wildlife parks in other parts of the country,” he added.

“The wildlife experts have appreciated us for introducing the species to the country and providing it good conditions that led to its breeding here, he said.

“We have brought 10 oryx and now their population is 19. We have sent three animals to the Dera Ismail Khan Park and a pair to the Lakki Marwat Park,” added the official. The official said a delegation would share its report with the zoo management that would include recommendations to improve the conditions in the zoo.