Durban - Freedom the giraffe appears to be finding his mojo again, more than a week after his dramatic arrival in Assagay and the death of his companion.
Now living in the Phezulu Safari Park and Conservation Area, Freedom is eating and appears to be in good health, but he is still in the process of healing after his ordeal, his keepers say.
“Freedom goes into the bush on his own, but in the evenings he joins the herd again,” said Michelle Grant, manager at Phezulu.
She said while Freedom largely kept to himself, at night he moved around with the rest of the herd he has joined. She said giraffes were inquisitive, lived in herds and tended to keep to family clusters.
“All he wants right now is to be left alone and be given space. He just wants to heal,” said Grant.
She said her colleague Matthew Grant did daily wellness checks on Freedom, who seemed fine but wanted to be left alone.
“He is eating well and his droppings are back to normal,” she said.
However, he was very wary of humans and she said it was understandable after the ordeal he had been through.
Residents of Assagay were astounded when what appeared to be a furniture truck pulled up in front of a residence last week and two giraffes were offloaded.
While Freedom remained on the property to which he was delivered, the female giraffe went exploring. She walked across the boundary fence and onto a neighbouring property where those owners were shocked to see a giraffe munching leaves in their garden when they looked through their window.
Grant said the female giraffe subsequently slipped and fell in a pool of mud, sparking a dramatic rescue which lasted several hours and involved several organisations, including Phezulu conservation, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the SPCA and the police.
Grant said that during the rescue operation the giraffe was darted with a tranquilliser, blindfolded and then walked back across the boundary onto the property she came from.
The ordeal had onlookers agog and many took pictures for social media. Requests for interviews were denied because the owner of the property was out of the country.
However, just hours later the owner of the property contacted Phezulu because the rescued animal’s health had taken a turn for the worse.
Grant said at that time the owner went out of his way to assist them, saying no expense should be spared to ensure that the animal was comfortable.
However, the giraffe suffered a seizure and died.
At the time, Grant told the “Independent on Saturday” that they did everything in their power to rescue her. “I can only think that the stress of being transported overnight, then the escape followed by the rescue was just too much for her. She was highly stressed, we couldn’t save her, she was too far gone.”
Concerns for Freedom’s well-being then saw him moved to Phezulu through Alverstone, said Grant.
While the transport and ownership of the giraffes are still under investigation, Freedom – named in honour of Freedom Day, which was celebrated last week – has been tagged and microchipped and will remain at Phezulu for now at the request of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.
Last week, the “Independent on Saturday” spoke to the owner of the property where the giraffes were offloaded, but he later retracted permission for us to use his statement.
The Independent on Saturday