Since the pair was brought here in 2002-03, they have given birth to three calves. While the first female calf born in 2005 has survived, the other two died.

They had no symptoms to indicate that they were suffering from genetic diseases. “It could be possible that the deaths were caused by inbreeding. We are now looking for a solution to the problem,” said Renu Singh, Director, Lucknow zoo.

The giraffe pair—eight-year-old Sujata and nine-year-old Anubhav— was brought from the Alipur Zoo, Kolkata in exchange of nearly twenty swamp deer from Lucknow zoo. Their only surviving offspring, Khushi, is now in Mysore zoo in exchange of a pair of chimpanzee.

“In 2007, Sujata gave birth to a male calf, but it did not survive. At the time of the birth, it was physically fit. However, its behaviour was abnormal as it was unable to recognise its mother and could not take milk. It was kept under observation for 12 days after which it died. In last November, a female giraffe was born. At the time of the birth, it also seemed fit but was unable to stand and died the same night,” said Singh.