Giraffe-less Delhi zoo aims to acquire animal from Thailand

New Delhi, June 19 

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The Delhi zoo has requested the Thailand authorities to send five giraffes through an animal exchange programme. 

The National Zoological Park (NZP), also known as the Delhi zoo, lost its last giraffe, eight-year-old Ankit, in June 2015 due to heart attack and kidney failure. Since then, the NZP authorities has written to a number of zoos for acquiring giraffes. 

“In my two years here, I have written to many zoos, including those in Mysuru, Patna and Kolkata. We have been making continuous efforts in this direction,” NZP director Renu Singh said. “We talked to the directors of those zoos. The authorities in Patna and Mysuru told us they would consider the request once their giraffes reproduce,” she said. Singh had now written to the authorities in Thailand, which has 24 giraffes in seven zoos. 

“We have written to three zoos in Thailand for acquiring five giraffes through an exchange programme. We are hopeful our efforts will be successful,” she said. 

The letter to the three Thailand zoos was sent with a list of surplus animals in the Delhi zoo. These include black buck, sambar, jackal, monkey, white tiger, hippopotamus, nilgai, porcupine and emu, among others. —PTI

Banking on exchange programme 

The National Zoological Park, also known as the Delhi zoo, lost its last giraffe, eight-year-old Ankit, in June 2015 due to heart attack and kidney failure. It has now put in a request to three zoos in Thailand for acquiring five giraffes through an exchange programme.