2nd Giraffe May Be Killed by Danish Zoo

Jyllands Park's Marius could be put down if the zoo finds female for breeding
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 13, 2014 6:30 AM CST
2nd Giraffe May Be Killed by Danish Zoo
Marius, a male giraffe, lies dead before being dissected, after he was put down at Copenhagen Zoo on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014.   (AP Photo/POLFOTO, Peter Hove Olesen)

First Marius, now ... Marius? After a young male giraffe was shot, dissected, and fed to animals at the Copenhagen Zoo on Sunday over concerns of inbreeding, a second Danish zoo says its giraffe of the same name may face a similar fate. Jyllands Park has two male giraffes, and it's just gotten the OK join a breeding program. "We can't have two males and one female. Then there will be fights," zookeeper Janni Poulsen says, and Marius has been deemed the one "unsuitable" for breeding. And so if a female is found, Marius will likely be put down, as finding him a home would be no easy feat, the zoo says, per the Guardian. Poulsen certainly expresses no qualms: "If we are told we have to euthanize [Marius] we would of course do that."

As for the protests that followed the death of Marius at the Copenhagen Zoo, "it doesn't affect us in any way. We are completely behind Copenhagen and would have done the same," Poulsen adds, telling the Telegraph, "If the breeding program coordinator decides that he should be put down, then that's what we'll do." It's not clear if or when the zoo could acquire a female giraffe, who would ostensibly breed with the younger giraffe, Elmer. Jyllands Park adds it hasn't yet decided if it would stage a public dissection of Marius, like the one that sparked outrage in Copenhagen. (More giraffes stories.)

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