Taipei: A young giraffe became so panicked he dropped dead after being caged and loaded onto a truck in a zoo in Taiwan. Hsiao Chiu, who was only seven years old, was put into the crate to be taken from the municipal Taipei Zoo to a private zoo to mate.
According to the reports, Hsiao Chiu had died in ‘a painful accident’, claiming the trip had originally been postponed from June so the sensitive giraffe could be eased into the process. Taipei Zoo added that they had not given the giraffe a blood test before the planned trip to avoid agitating him. Animal rights campaigners have called for far greater protection for animals in captivity in the wake of Hsiao Chiu’s death.
An autopsy confirmed the giraffe was suffering from pneumonia and anxiety from being inside the crate, which then triggered muscle problems and breathing difficulties and died of lung and heart failure.