Giraffe dies at Longleat safari park
Thorn, a male Rothschild giraffe, was the oldest of his kind in Europe
A giraffe at Wiltshire's Longleat Safari Park - the oldest of his species in Europe - has died at the age of 23.
Thorn was more than 16 feet tall and weighed over 1.3 tonnes.
During his life he fathered 29 calves and had 5 grandchildren.
He arrived at Longleat in 2012, having been born in Edinburgh.
He'd been struggling with ill-health recently so keepers tell us they took the difficult decision to put him to sleep.
Darren Beasley, Head of Animal Operations, said:
“It is with huge sadness we are sharing this news today. Thorn has been experiencing ill-health for some time and supported by veterinary care, we have been able to maintain his quality of life using pain relief.
“However, he has been deteriorating and was struggling, in particular with age related arthritis in his legs, so we had to make the difficult decision to put him to sleep.
“We are supporting our keepers who have cared for him for many years and for whom Thorn was very much part of their extended family; decisions such as this one are a tough part of our work but when required it is the right thing to do for our animals in the same way many of us have to make similar decisions for domestic pets.”
In the wild the maximum life expectancy for a male Rothschild giraffe is between 15-20 years.
Many of Thorn’s descendants have been sent to zoological collections across Europe as the Safari Park has one of the most successful captive breeding programmes for the species.