Dume, a 19 year old giraffe at Hamilton Zoo. Photo: Supplied / Hamilton Zoo
A giraffe at Hamilton Zoo has died during a routine health check.
Dume, a 19 year old giraffe, was one of the oldest at the zoo.
In a Facebook post, Hamilton Zoo said Dume had captured the hearts of everyone with his gentle and majestic presence.
"Our team is heartbroken by this loss. We are committed to providing the highest standard of care for all our animals, and this incident is a profound reminder of the delicate nature of wildlife care."
Head veterinarian Richard Sim said, with large animals, there was always a risk with anaesthetic treatments, but the zoo needed to correct some hoof disease and do a teeth inspection.
"We've loved him at Hamilton Zoo for many years and are gutted by his passing," he said.
"We did the exam because we needed to correct some hoof disease, and we suspected his teeth were bad too. Getting them corrected was important to set him up for great health in his twenties.
"With huge, tall animals, there is always a risk with anaesthesia. We did everything we could to prepare and be ready to deal with any eventuality, but his complications during the anaesthetic were too severe, and we lost him while we were treating his problems.
"We will miss him greatly."
Dume is not the first giraffe to die during a routine health check at Hamilton Zoo, with 19 year-old male giraffe Ndale having passed away a day after being anaesthetised in February last year.
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