A bridge too far for giraffe

THE bridge over the N1 in Pretoria where a giraffe was killed this week was believed to have been high enough for the animal to pass under while being transported on a truck.

The animal’s owner, Dirk Boshoff, said the truck carrying two giraffes had passed safely under 31 bridges before reaching the Garsfontein bridge.

He said he had since learnt that there had been several collisions because of the bridge’s “unusually low height” but “there was no warning that the Garsfontein bridge is unsafe”.

The giraffes were being transported from Meyersdal, south of Johannesburg.

Boshoff, who was driving behind the truck, said he watched in horror when one of the giraffes smashed its head against the bridge.

“This tragic incident will stay with me and my family for the rest of our lives,” he said. “I am not in the business of killing game, but in the business of relocating game in order to preserve our wildlife heritage.”

Before the incident, motorists posted pictures of the two giraffes, blindfolded and wearing ear plugs, being transported in open containers on the truck.

The incident is being investigated by the SPCA, which confirmed investigators had followed the truck — but only for part of the journey. The animal welfare organisation had only joined the convoy when the truck had broken down.

Tshwane SPCA manager Rick Allan said the organisation believed more care should have been taken before the giraffes were put on a truck.

Boshoff said he had relocated game for more than a decade and had never experienced such a tragedy.

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