Serbia: Mourning her mate, Belgrade zoo giraffe goes on hunger strike

Belgrade, 13 Dec. (AKI) - The mate of Belgrade Zoo's deceased main attraction is mourning her late partner and has gone on a hunger strike after the 15-year-old giraffe's life was cut short by an unknown cause.

After Zarko died his female partner Ema has refused to eat, zoo director Vuk Bojovic said on Tuesday.

Bojovic told Adnkronos International (AKI) he was awaiting forensic results to determine the cause of Zarko’s death. He was only 15 years old and giraffes live up to 25 years.

“Zarko was a very friendly type, unlike Ema, and we feel as if a member of our family had died,” Bojovic said. Ema is refusing to take the food since Zarko died two days ago. Bojovic said he was trying to feed her by hand.

“I hope she will overcome her grief until we find her a new partner,” Bojovic, who has become a legend for making a modest zoo a leading Belgrade attraction, said. The zoo operates on very modest means and depends mostly on donations.

“I hope some of the zoos we cooperate with might donate us a partner for Ema,” Bojovic said. “But the problem is that I was personally very attached to Zarko and find it very hard to overcome his loss,” he added.