AN incurably ill giraffe kept alive so she could care for her baby daughter was put down today.
Jade was put to sleep this morning at Edinburgh Zoo after the pain of the arthritis she suffered became too much to bear.
Although she was in pain during the last months of her life, the 11-year-old giraffe was kept alive so she could care for her one-year-old daughter, Sapphire.
But vets looking after Jade said that the degenerative disease in her leg joints had become so painful her death could not be put off any longer.
Sapphire is now left in the care of her dad, Siger.
The death of Jade, who gave birth to four calves in her lifetime, has saddened everyone at the zoo.
Zoo chief executive David Windmill said: "We are very upset. Our vets advised us to do it a few months ago, but we didn’t want to do it. The vets said we had to on animal welfare grounds.
"We delayed it a little while because we wanted her to be around for Sapphire a little bit longer.
"Sapphire has been weaned, so doesn’t need her mother for milk, but we just wanted to keep them together as long as we could."
After she died, Jade was taken to Edinburgh’s Royal Dick Vet School, where vets will carry out a post-mortem to find out more about the condition she suffered from.
The incurable disease was diagnosed four months ago.
Since then, a team of vets had been treating Jade with medication and painkillers, but over the past few weeks her condition had deteriorated so that she was in great pain, and the drugs were having very limited effect.
Anna Meredith, who is chief veterinary adviser for the zoo, said: "Jade had become increasingly lame and reluctant to walk, despite our best efforts in controlling the pain of this incurable disease.
"It was very distressing to have to put down such a magnificent animal, but her welfare was our prime concern."
Jade was born at Dudley Zoo and arrived at Edinburgh Zoo in 1995. Her keepers described her as a caring and attentive mother. Had she not been struck down with illness, she would have been expected to live for another ten years.
Head keeper Darren McGarry said: "She was a wonderful animal, and will be much missed, but we could not bear to see her suffering any longer.
"Thankfully, her daughter, Sapphire, who was born in July last year, is no longer dependent on her for milk, and she still has her father, Siger, for company."
A new home at another zoo will be found for Sapphire in the next few months, when she reaches adulthood.
Zoo chiefs are also looking for a new mate for Siger. Edinburgh Zoo’s corps of giraffes belong to the Baringo or Rothschild’s variety, so the zoo wants to find a mate of the same breed.
Mr Windmill added: "The main thing is not to have Siger left on his own for too long.
"They do like to have other giraffes around them."
Jade’s skeleton will be sent to the Royal Museum in Chambers Street, where her bones will be used for research and teaching.
The death of Jade comes as a setback for the zoo, which is this summer celebrating record visitor numbers and several births.
Three rare Amur tiger cubs were born at the zoo earlier this year as part if its conservation programme. There are just 400 of their kind left in the wild.
And last month, four baby meerkats were born and were later named after biblical figures.
Zoo authorities have also created a £300,000 enclosure complete with a small pool, trees, and lots of climbing and snoozing sites for its two Asiatic lions.
Record numbers of people are visiting the zoo, due to the increased number of people holidaying in the UK. Visitor figures are up on last year by around 12 per cent.
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