Zoo operator Safari World Plc has concluded that a giraffe which escaped from a lorry and was hit by a motorcycle had actually drowned as an autopsy revealed no injuries.
The giraffe, a four-year-old male which was found dead in a ditch in Chachoengsao, was one of two giraffes which escaped from the lorry on Tuesday. The other was a five-year-old female who is now safe.
"It's the female giraffe that was recorded by the car's dashcam," the zoo's veterinarian Anuwat Watthananoraset, said on Friday, referring to a clip shared on Facebook which shows a motorcycle bumping into the animal on Highway 304 in Chachoengsao.
The clip sparked outrage on social media.
"We found no wounds on her body," Dr Anuwat said. "She was not hit by the motorcycle," he added, despite the video suggesting she had been hit.
The zoo said it needed to shoot the two giraffes with tranquilisers during a search operation for the pair which, according to Safari World managing director Litti Kewkacha, involved a team of 100 staff and experts and took around two days. They decided to catch the female first because it was standing near a road and then the male which was seen in a field.
It was very dark at that time and though the male was shot with the tranquiliser, it did not get the complete dose leading it to become frightened and run across the road, Dr Anuwat said.
The team followed him but unfortunately failed to catch the animal. It was not until Thursday when the giraffe was found dead in a ditch in front of Sunrise Lagoon Hotel & Golf Club on the same road.
The male giraffe was one of 78 imported giraffes being transported to a zoo's animal breeding station in Prachin Buri's Mahaphot district.