Two Endangered Masai Giraffes Die of Maltreatment at B.C Instution

At the Mountain View Conservation and Breeding Center, situated in British Columbia, a necrospy and further investigation found that the poor treatment of their animals was detrimental enough to end the lives of two young giraffes. The first death was of a four year old giraffe has been attributed to the extreme cold and poor heating in the facility, but that is not all that lead to it's death. Since a giraffe is a very huge animal, malnutrition would be something hard to diagnose, but after taking sample post mortum, Bruce Burton, a veterinarian at the center, came to the conclusion that the food given was not suitable to giraffes. The giraffe's exact cause of death was peracute mortality syndrome, which means that the giraffe's lack of body fat lead to a sudden death. The organization fed the giraffes pellets, stuffed with grains and leaves, but due to the nature of serving, the giraffes would pick out the leaves and only eat the grain. The death of these two endangered Masai Giraffes is most certainly tragic.

In my opinion, this organization is most certainly at fault for these deaths. According to reports, these barns were described as totally barren and not appropriate for a giraffe. This particular facility has also been looked into for inhumane euthanization, and the results are not yet disclosed, which says an awful lot for me. As a place that specializes in the treatment of endangered animals, they are responsible for knowing the appropriate diet, inhabitants, and treatment of these animals, so this is either a place of clear neglect or pure ignorance; either way, an endangered species is not going to do to well. I definitely think that these giraffes should be sent to an instution that actually cares for these animals. To see the original article by CBC, the link is here, and there are many more news stories by other publications commenting on this sadness.