Photos: Terrified Giraffe Dies From Panic Attack After Being Caged For Transport In A Zoo

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Photos: Terrified Giraffe Dies From Panic Attack After Being Caged For Transport In A Zoo

A terrified giraffe who was caged and loaded on to a truck at a zoo in south ?China?'s ??Taiwan? to be taken to mate has died after suffering a panic attack. Seven-year-old giraffe Hsiao Chiu was due to be transported from Taipei Zoo to a private ??zoo? when he began to struggle before he collapsed and died, officials confirmed.

An autopsy showed the animal was suffering from pneumonia and anxiety from the transportation, which triggered breathing difficulties and muscle damage. He died of lung and heart failure before the truck had even left for the 44 mile journey.

In a statement, Taipei Zoo said: 'The zoo lost Hsiao Chiu in a painful accident', adding the trip had already been postponed from June so the sensitive animal could get familiar with the process.

Now the death of Hsiao Chiu has sparked angry calls from animal rights campaigners who say there needs to be tougher laws to protect animals in captivity.

The giraffe's death also made the front-pages of some local newspapers, which also criticised the zoo for failing to detect its illness.

The zoo said it had not given the giraffe a blood test before the trip to avoid agitating it.