Dear readers.
We have had deaths at the wildlife centre befor but none as sad as this one. We have unfortunately lost Matilda, one of our female giraffes. She was a friendly, loving character that formed part of our family.
She was examined by a vet at the centre itself so we can determine the cause of death. All conservation students were called together to help with the process and to learn from it. We used the post mortum as a learning oppertunity and aeveryone wore gloves that helped to evaluate the body and organs.
We had to open her up and check for any swelling or inflamation to the organs. He stomach was full of food but she had not defecated in a while. As the inspection went on, the vet took a sample of the skin, organ membranes and the stomach contents for testing in the lab. The brain had to be taken out as well for testing because when she would bend down to drink, Cheecky the zebra could have kicked her to the head. She also had blood coming from her mouth the night before her death.
All students helping had to wear gloves to protect themselves from possible diseases and to prevent any bodily fluids from going into possible wounds on the hands of the students. She will be missed and we will be receiving the results to the tests in a couple of weeks.
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