Benito, a giraffe, is embarking on a journey that will take 50 hours to escape the chilly and solitary environment of Ciudad Juárez, a northern border city in Mexico. He hopes to find a new home and possibly a companion 2,000km (1,200 miles) away in a warmer location.
An effort led by animal advocates resulted in the relocation of a four-year-old giraffe to an animal park in Puebla, Mexico. The giraffe will now be part of a community of resident giraffes and experience a more suitable climate.
Benito has had a difficult and solitary journey. Envy caused him to depart from his residence at a zoo in the state of Sinaloa on the Pacific coast. Last year, he was relocated to a park managed by the city in Ciudad Juárez, opposite of El Paso, Texas, where he has been living a solitary life.
On Monday, with temperatures dropping to 39F (4C) in Ciudad Juárez, Benito embarked on a journey in a crate secured to the back of a flat-bed truck. He is a tall cargo, standing at approximately 16ft (5m) and his crate’s roof can be lowered to fit under bridges.
On Sunday evening, citizens of Ciudad Juárez came together to bid farewell as a crane lifted the container holding the giraffe onto a truck, getting ready for its journey. Some of the residents shouted, “We will miss you, Benito!”
Flor Ortega, 23, expressed mixed emotions about his departure, stating, “While we’re saddened by his leaving, we also take comfort in knowing that the weather conditions are not ideal for him.”
Benito is being moved from Mexico to Africam Safari park in central Puebla state. The temperatures in this area are approximately 20 degrees higher than in Ciudad Juárez.
Most significantly, Benito will have the opportunity to find a partner: there will be three female giraffes residing in his new habitat.
Environmental organizations had expressed significant objections regarding the challenges that Benito encountered at the city-operated Central Park zoo in Ciudad Juárez. The climate in the summer is extremely hot and temperatures drastically drop during the winter season.
Benito was initially from a zoo located in the warmer region of Sinaloa, which is situated on the Pacific coast of northern Mexico. Due to being single, Benito was unable to remain with the two other giraffes at the zoo, as there were concerns that the male would display aggressive behavior towards the younger Benito.
He was given as a donation to Ciudad Juárez. During the summer, he had limited shelter in his half-acre enclosure, as seen in photos where he had to crouch to fit under a small, circular shade canopy. The pond in his enclosure would sometimes freeze over during the winter. There were not many trees for him to eat from.
The specially designed container for Benito’s transportation has a height of over 5m. According to Frank Carlos Camacho, director of Africam Safari park, the giraffe had the opportunity to get comfortable with it over the weekend.
In a recent video update shared on Monday, Camacho announced, “He is prepared to become a giraffe. He will soon mate and help preserve this incredible species.”
Source: theguardian.com
