Blair Drummond Safari Park is mourning the loss of one of their giraffes, the oldest in the UK, amidst celebrations for the park’s first ‘babies’ of the year.Keisha died peacefully on February 1 at the age of 24 and was said to have been experiencing “age-related” issues recently.A safari park spokesperson said: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the loss of Keisha.“As a result of her failing health, our vet team carried out a full health screen.
During this screening, we sadly determined that the best course of action was to put her to sleep.“Keisha was 24 years of age and the oldest giraffe in the UK.”Susan Marshall, large mammal team leader at Blair Drummond said: “We are devastated.
While under the care of our vet team yesterday, it unfortunately became clear that her health was rapidly declining.“Keisha was born at Twycross Zoo in 1998 and arrived at Blair Drummond in 2012.
Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area. “She was instantly recognisable by her impressive height, standing at 17 feet tall – about a foot taller than most other female giraffes.“She was well-known for her confident nature and her love of food. “Keisha has been a popular member of our family for over 10 years and will be sorely missed by our keepers, members, and visitors, who were all immensely fond of her.” Operations Manager, Dave Warren said: “We are indebted to the diligence, sensitivity, and professionalism of our vet team.“Keisha’s keepers were present and involved throughout the operation and had the toughest of calls to make alongside our veterinarians, which they did unanimously.“Sometimes the rational decisions are the bravest to make in the midst of high emotion.“I couldn’t be prouder of the squad for this
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