Committee to probe into the death of Nandankanan giraffe

A day after the death of a male giraffe brought from Alipore Zoo in Kolkata to the Nandankanan Zoological Park here, the Odisha government today set up a three-member expert committee to probe into the premature demise of the animal.
The committee would be headed by former PCCF Saroj Patnaik and would submit its report within a week, said Nandankanan director Sudarshan Panda.
The committee would look into whether there was any negligence on part of the Nandankanan authority in handling the giraffe after its arrival here.
Meanwhile, the post mortem report revealed the male giraffe 'Joy' died due to heart stroke. Symptoms of jaundice and anaemia were also found in the body of the animal, the report said.

The animal was brought to Nandankanan from the Alipore zoo in Kolkata on February 24 under the animal exchange programme for mating with the lone female giraffe at Nandankanan here. The state zoo had swapped four of its tigers to get the long-necked animal.
Five-year old 'Joy' was brought here under the supervision of an eight-member expert team headed by Assistant Director of Nandankanan Dr Kamal Lochan Purohit.