ALL THREE giraffes from Cantabria's famous Cabárceno Park have died in a fire in the early hours of Saturday, confirm staff from the huge safari complex.
The cause of the blaze is not yet known, but it has caused extensive damage in the building that houses the three animals – all male – overnight.
An investigation team has been set up into what happened to prevent a repeat of the tragedy, with manager of the public-sector company which runs the park – Cantur – Javier Carrión, the centre director Miguel Otí and the heads of veterinary care on site.
A Guardia Civil patrol car alerted emergency services at around 02.30, but the giraffes had already died before the fire brigade reached the scene.
This is the third safari park fire in the space of a fortnight in Europe, after animals lost their lives in two zoos in the UK.
A blaze at London Zoo in the early hours of Christmas Eve killed an aardvark and four meerkats, and 13 patas monkeys lost their lives in an inferno at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire early on Tuesday, January 2.
The photograph shows a male giraffe, similar to the ones who died in Cantabria, in its natural habitat.
