Chiang Mai's Night Safari accused of poor management
Chew, a giraffe born on January 29 in Chiang Mai’s Night Safari, died within weeks. Honey, its mother, died later.The zoo’s project director admits both were in bad health
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Chiang Mai's Night Safari zoo has fallen afoul of wildlife activists again, with claims that 104 animals have died there because of poor management.
The claim came after a woman veterinarian was rushed to hospital from the zoo at the weekend after being struck on the head by an iron bar when a white rhinoceros struggled violently in a holding cage while she treated its hurt eye. The woman suffered a brain haemorrhage, but is recovering in hospital. Veterinarian Charuayporn Sae Ju, 26, was attempting to wash the hurt eye of the five-year-old Indian rhino named Roger. She was expected to be released from hospital in a few days. Night Safari director Pisal Wasuwanich said the rhino might have been frustrated at being kept in the cage during the eye treatment. The accident was revealed one day after the Wildlife Fund Thailand claimed that 104 animals have died at the zoo, a casualty rate that has been kept secret. The deaths reportedly include a new-born giraffe. The zoo's project director, Plodprasop Suraswadi, admitted the giraffe and its mother died during the birth of the calf on January 29 because both the mother and calf were in bad health. Moreover, he said several birds died after their wing tendons were cut by unskilled staff to stop them from flying away. "We regret the deaths," Plodprasop said. "However, the death toll is less than 1 per cent of all wildlife in the zoo." Wildlife Fund Thailand director Nikom Puttha claimed to have been informed by zoo staff that 104 animals, including giraffes, birds, hyenas, ostriches and several kinds of deer, died in the period up to January 8 because of poor treatment, tension because of transportation and the inappropriate environment of the zoo. Zoo director Pisal said the number of wildlife casualties is not that high. However, a number of imported animals have died during transportation. These deaths weren't the zoo's fault, he said. The senders were responsible according to an arrangement that animals have to survive for at least 15 days after their arrival, he said. He also admitted that two gorals - long-haired goat-antelopes from mountainous regions of East Asia - jumped to their death from a cliff in the zoo because of tension caused by their new environment. "But I can say that the zoo's management and animal-treatment systems are efficient enough as we have four veterinarians at the zoo to carefully look after the wildlife," Pisal said.
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