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Zoo story
Raja in his cabin.
The authorities of the Mysore zoo are sad to see Raja go.
They shed light on the animal, its rearing and transport:
Crane placing the crate carrying Raja on the trolley
"Raja belongs to the stock of giraffes that were received from the Carl Hagen Beck zoo in Germany in 1987. He was born on May 5, 2000," says S. C. Valandikar, director.
Employees of the Mysore and Thiruvananthapuram zoos involved in the operation.
S. M. Khadri, vet, says that Raja belongs to a reticulate species with strong genes. "In time, he will turn darker in colour like his father. He weighs about 300 kg. As Raja's mother refused to feed him, we gave him the colostrum (milk secreted by the mother for a few days after giving birth; it provides immunity from diseases to the new-born) of a Jersey cow that had given birth to a calf the same day, because giraffes and cows are susceptible to similar diseases. We weaned him at nine months."
Raja's elder brothers Krishnaraja and Chamaraja and mother Honey.
S. Nagaraju, engineer, says the crate weighs about 1.25 tonnes and is made of `Malaysian honne' wood. "It is ten feet high, eight feet long and six feet wide and can be dismantled. Mild steel U-channels make it secure. It costs Rs. 1.17 lakhs."
P.K.U.
Photos - P.K.U.
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