Animal suffered from sudden death syndrome common when raised in temperate climates
By REBECCA LINDELL, Vancouver Sun
METRO VANCOUVER - A lethal mix of cold weather and inappropriate diet was the likely cause of the death of a young giraffe at Langley’s Mountain View Conservation and Breeding Centre in December, according to an animal autopsy.
The facility hosts rare and endangered animals, including giraffes, tapirs and painted dogs. The Masai giraffe was one of two that died at the facility during an early December cold snap. The necropsy for the second dead giraffe, which was a baby, has not been completed.
The official report cites the likely cause of death as a condition called peracute mortality syndrome, which one of the zoo’s veterinarians explained as sudden death.
The condition is common to giraffes that have been raised in temperate climates instead of the tropics, said Bruce Burton.
“It seems to happen in the winter time or when the weather is colder or where there appears to be a reduced ability of giraffes to lay down internal body fat,” Burton said.
The chances of suffering from the syndrome increase if the giraffe has a taste for grains instead of their natural diet of leaves and shoots, Burton said.
Grains become part of a giraffe diet in captivity because of their role as an energy source. Burton said these particular giraffes were fed a mix of pelleted rations and it is possible they were picky eaters, selecting too many grains and leaving the greens.
“In hindsight you would make sure you forced them to eat a balanced diet instead of giving them the opportunity to select bits and pieces of that diet,” Burton said, adding that Mountain View will be reforming its feeding methods. Burton also said the heat supply in the facilities should be improved.
The BC SPCA has been investigating Mountain View since December after past and present employees accused the facility of animal neglect, botched euthanasia and failure to investigate animal deaths. It is the only time the SPCA has had a complaint about the facility.
Mountain View CEO and founder Gordon Blankstein has denied the allegations. The Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums has also defended Mountain View’s animal treatment record, calling it “superb.”
