Zoo Giraffe

When a giant zoo animal such as an elephant or a giraffe dies how do they dispose of its carcass?

I mean its not like you can just bury one of those can you?

Usually, a dead zoo animal will be incinerated. In the case of large animals like elephants or giraffes, the body will be cut into sections in order for it to fit into the incinerator. This is not done on-site – a vet or someone similar will remove and destroy the body. Occasionally an animal may be buried at the zoo – usually small animals, or ones that had a special significance (e.g. the zoo’s oldest resident). This is rare, though – generally zoos do not have either the space or the time to devote to burying animals.

Today, it is rare for parts of dead zoo animals to be donated to museums or suchlike, though this did sometimes occur in the past. Today, there is too much concern about health and safety for bits of animal carcasses to be allowed to move freely about the place.

Baby Giraffe Zuri at 1month – Cincinnati Zoo