The animal was found dead in the flooded giraffe barn by animal keepers, and the veterinaries determined head injuries, and sprain of the hind right leg.

According to the representative of the Ljubljana Zoo it will never be clearly established what was going on in the giraffe barn during the night, but judging from the evidence the most likely scenario was as follows: "During the night water started leaking at the water trough in the box where the oldest male giraffe Reinhold was settled. The water started flooding the giraffe barn. Giraffes are very shy animals, very sensitive to unusual happenings to which they react in a panic. Reinhold probably slipped on the wet and consequently slippery floor, and at that occasion he injured his hind right leg and probably hit the wooden wall of the box with his head, which had fatal consequences," they explained.

They immediately checked health condition of the other three giraffes - Gal, Rastko and Cvetko, and found them in good condition. They spent the day in the outer part of the paddock while the workers repaired the plumbing in the giraffe barn, and in the evening they were already able to return to the inner area to rest.

A true giant
Reinhold was born on April 11, 2002 at Augsburg Zoo in Germany. At the age of two he moved to Sosto Zoo in Hungary. He was a Rothschild's giraffe, the tallest giraffe subspecies, and was at four and a half metres almost by one metre higher than other male giraffes.

Most male giraffes live less than 16 years, one fourth dies before the age of three, and one half before the age of ten.

T. H.; Translated by G. K.