Doctor Death at the Zoo

[Unregistered Zoo Keeper]

I'm sorry i can't post or register my name because the upper managements arms at RBZG are very long and i have bills and a family to support. i wonder how long before the police or the state law enforcement division are going to take before they investigate the head vet at the zoo. There are a lot of animals that have died some VERY mysterious deaths. In the past 6 years we have lost ainmals, both large and small - elephants, rhinos, bears, lions, snakes, emus, giraffes, koalas, and several other animals. It is always covered up as the animal had a allergic reaction to drugs, an accident, or some other reason. It is also helps that his wife just happens to be the head of human resources. i dearly hope somebody can look in to this. More later..

Riverbanks' giraffe dies after surgery

Becky, the large giraffe that seemed to enjoy interaction with people at the feeding platform at Riverbanks Zoo, died Thursday from complications after a simple foot procedure, zoo officials said.

Though she appeared healthy when she slurped up giraffe treats, Becky had a variety of ailments for years, including difficulty maintaining a proper weight, said zoo veterinarian Dr. Keith Benson.

JOEY HOLLEMAN

Staff Writer

Reach Holleman at (803) 771-8366 or jholleman@thestate.com

[Former RBZ Keeper]

One poorly-researched example does NOT a well-fleshed-out cause for doubt make.

It was unfortunate that Becky passed away after her (hardly "simple"!) foot procedure, but if you knew anything about giraffes and the anesthetising thereof, you would know that 1) anesthetising ANY giraffe is ALWAYS a risky procedure, and 2) they would never have even gone through with the procedure if it wasn't absolutely necessary for her feet to undergo the treatment they received. This was a decision that was made with the animal's health in mind, and with the full knowledge that she might not survive it, but the condition of her feet was such that other complications would arise if they hadn't done something about it.

Anesthetising a giraffe is risky for a few reasons that make anesthetising /any/ animal difficult, and a few extra-special reasons unique to giraffes. 1) Any animal who must be shot by a tranquilizer in order to be anesthetised goes through a great deal of stress, which speeds their heart and adrenaline to such a degree that it is very difficult to monitor the appropriate amount of tranquilizer to counteract what is burned off by this stress, and still be enough to ensure that the animal will be safely sedated before anyone begins to work on her (a giraffe can kick the head off of a lion, so when one is working on their feet, caution is definitely the better part of valour). 2) The animal in question will more often than not struggle and run about for a few minutes, fighting the effects of the tranquilizer as long as possible, before collapsing to the floor and sweet oblivion. When that animal happens to be a giraffe, the floor is approximately 14 feet from the animal's head when it does collapse -- and one must be incredibly careful of the giraffe's neck, the head's impact with the ground, and the most IMPORTANT part of giraffe existance, which is never to allow the head to descend below the level of the body, for circulatory and other reasons.

As you can see, there are many factors that the vet must consider when entering into a procedure such as the one that ended in Becky's demise, and I can assure you from personal experience that the Head Vet at RBZ is a very intelligent man who would not lightly undertake such a procedure, and who has a very talented staff, the combination of which would lead to the best possible degree of professionalism and health care for the animals under their care.

I'm not saying that fishy things haven't happened at RBZ. It's true that the relationship of the Head Vet and the head of HR should be a cause for raised brows (knowing, as we all do, the necessary restrictions upon intimate relationships between supervisors and those whose paychecks they write). I AM saying that you, Anonymous Poster, need to do more research and post your suspicions in a manner that smacks more of Fact than Hearsay. Animals die, my friend. Zoos have LOTS of animals. What about all of the SUCCESSFUL procedures that have taken place? What about all the animals who remain alive after difficult procedures or improbable circumstances? Just because YOU don't know all the details about the abovementioned animals' deaths doesn't mean that there's something fishy going on with the vet staff. There are plenty of things that can go awry in the husbandry of animals, only a few of them having to do with the /vet/ staff.

In conclusion: I agree that there are some things that need to be changed at RBZ. But in order for those changes to be effective and for the right reasons, you need to look at the big picture; right now it just sounds like you have a personal vendetta against the Head Vet at RBZ, which people will write off more easily than a well-researched account of specific instances.

Yours truly,
-- A feline-minded former keeper

[Captain Worley]

Golf clap!!!

I'm glad to see someone chimed in on this. I admit to knowing very little about veterinary medicine on exotic animals (or any other), but I did think a giraffe would be a tricky animal to work on.

[Unregistered]

One poorly-researched example does NOT a well-fleshed-out cause for doubt make.

It was unfortunate that Becky passed away after her (hardly "simple"!) foot procedure, but if you knew anything about giraffes and the anesthetising thereof, you would know that 1) anesthetising ANY giraffe is ALWAYS a risky procedure, and 2) they would never have even gone through with the procedure if it wasn't absolutely necessary for her feet to undergo the treatment they received. This was a decision that was made with the animal's health in mind, and with the full knowledge that she might not survive it, but the condition of her feet was such that other complications would arise if they hadn't done something about it.

Anesthetising a giraffe is risky for a few reasons that make anesthetising /any/ animal difficult, and a few extra-special reasons unique to giraffes. 1) Any animal who must be shot by a tranquilizer in order to be anesthetised goes through a great deal of stress, which speeds their heart and adrenaline to such a degree that it is very difficult to monitor the appropriate amount of tranquilizer to counteract what is burned off by this stress, and still be enough to ensure that the animal will be safely sedated before anyone begins to work on her (a giraffe can kick the head off of a lion, so when one is working on their feet, caution is definitely the better part of valour). 2) The animal in question will more often than not struggle and run about for a few minutes, fighting the effects of the tranquilizer as long as possible, before collapsing to the floor and sweet oblivion. When that animal happens to be a giraffe, the floor is approximately 14 feet from the animal's head when it does collapse -- and one must be incredibly careful of the giraffe's neck, the head's impact with the ground, and the most IMPORTANT part of giraffe existance, which is never to allow the head to descend below the level of the body, for circulatory and other reasons.

As you can see, there are many factors that the vet must consider when entering into a procedure such as the one that ended in Becky's demise, and I can assure you from personal experience that the Head Vet at RBZ is a very intelligent man who would not lightly undertake such a procedure, and who has a very talented staff, the combination of which would lead to the best possible degree of professionalism and health care for the animals under their care.

I'm not saying that fishy things haven't happened at RBZ. It's true that the relationship of the Head Vet and the head of HR should be a cause for raised brows (knowing, as we all do, the necessary restrictions upon intimate relationships between supervisors and those whose paychecks they write). I AM saying that you, Anonymous Poster, need to do more research and post your suspicions in a manner that smacks more of Fact than Hearsay. Animals die, my friend. Zoos have LOTS of animals. What about all of the SUCCESSFUL procedures that have taken place? What about all the animals who remain alive after difficult procedures or improbable circumstances? Just because YOU don't know all the details about the abovementioned animals' deaths doesn't mean that there's something fishy going on with the vet staff. There are plenty of things that can go awry in the husbandry of animals, only a few of them having to do with the /vet/ staff.

In conclusion: I agree that there are some things that need to be changed at RBZ. But in order for those changes to be effective and for the right reasons, you need to look at the big picture; right now it just sounds like you have a personal vendetta against the Head Vet at RBZ, which people will write off more easily than a well-researched account of specific instances.

Yours truly,
-- A feline-minded former keeper


Totally agree with you there. But then, I "think" I know who this person is.