FRESNO (KMJ) — The opening of Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s ‘African Adventure’ this week has been marred with tragedy.
Early visitors to the $56 million expansion were witness to the death of a young giraffe Sunday afternoon.
Those who were there say the animal got stuck in a fence – and was strangled to death. Animal protection group PETA have issued a statement in response to the
PETA have criticized the zoo, saying in a statement that the distress caused by the event itself is what caused the giraffe to try to escape and get caught in the fence.
If the Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s top priority were animals and not donors, it would never have thrown a raucous party right next to a group of nervous prey animals whose natural instinct is to run away from stress and danger.
That instinct likely killed this baby giraffe, as it has with others who have broken their necks on enclosure walls.
They call for an immediate end to giraffe breeding programs.
The animals inside the ‘African Adventure’ exhibit were moved from their old sites on the zoo grounds, but it’s unknown if the change in location was related to the tragedy.
It comes the day before the first zoo member preview event for the exhibit, taking place between Monday and Wednesday.
“It’s going to kick off our three days of member preview days, so those will all be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday”, says Fresno Chaffee’s Sierra Norton.
“So if you have a zoo membership then that is your day to come and get a little sneak preview of the completed exhibit”.
The barriers that separate the animals are designed to be hidden away – to create a full African Savannah at the park, with wildebeests, rhinos, zebras, and ostriches all mixing with each other.
It was all paid for with ‘Measure Z’ money, and it’s open for the public this Thursday.
“It’s a community exhibit that’s we’re able to give back to the people of Fresno, but I think it’s going to really help put Fresno on the map and people are going to come hopefully from all over central California”.
“We’re really hoping it’ll draw a lot more people to the area”.
