20-year-old giraffe ‘Tsunami Basant’ died today at Nehru Zoo Park -Telangana

Basant was born during the 2004 tsunami disaster in the National Zoological Park in New Delhi and was brought to the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad in 2009 under an animal exchange program.

Hyderabad: Basant TsunamiA 20-year-old male giraffe died of aging-related complications in hospital Nehru Zoological Parklate Monday evening.

According to zoo officials, Basant was born during the 2004 tsunami disaster at the National Zoological Park in New Delhi and was brought to the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad in 2009 under an animal exchange program.

Basant had been suffering from arthritis in his hind legs for the past two years and was being treated under the supervision of the zoo’s deputy director (veterinarian), Dr MAHakeem. To ascertain the cause of death, a post-mortem examination was conducted with veterinary experts from VBRI, Veterinary College, Rajendranagar, CCMB LaCONES etc. All samples were collected and sent to VBRI for further examination, the zoo said in a statement issued here on Tuesday. .

Zoo curator Dr. Sunil S. Hiremath and staff laid flowers and observed two minutes of silence in the enclosure. Following Basant’s death, the zoo now has only one male giraffe, Sunny.