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Search for U.S. Tourist “Killer” Giraffe Continues
NAIROBI,
June 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A violent giraffe emerged
Monday as the chief suspect in the mysterious death over the weekend
of a U.S. tourist at a luxury hotel in Kenya, police said.
The
middle-aged tourist, who was traveling alone, "was found dead
Sunday, June 23, 2002, with a cut behind the ear and one on the
forehead and multiple [other] injuries," at the Aberdare Country
Club, about 165 kilometers north of Nairobi, police spokesman Peter
Kimanthi told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"It
is suspected that he was attacked by male giraffe chasing female
giraffe... the male is being tracked down with a view to examine its
hooves to see if it's the one," said Kimanthi.
Nothing
was stolen from the tourist, he added, who had "just walked out
of the hotel to go to its game sanctuary when he was attacked by the
giraffe," added the spokesman, who stressed this account of the
death was not yet conclusive.
Asked
why a mammal better known for its languid gait than its homicidal
tendencies was thought to be involved in the death, Kimanthi said:
"because that giraffe is known to be violent, kind of."
For
the time being, police were not treating the death as a murder,
although this possibility was not being ruled out, said Kimanthi.
The
hotel's duty manager, James Drysdale, declined to speculate on the
cause of the tourist's death because the matter was in the hands of
the police and a post-mortem examination had yet to be carried out.
He
told AFP it was not unheard of for giraffes to attack humans.
"Over
the last 20 years in Africa, I have heard of such cases... Any wild
animal can be dangerous. A small dik-dik [a miniature form of
antelope] with horns can do extensive damage," he said.
"I
know of a KWS [Kenya Wildlife Service] ranger who was killed by a
giraffe a few years ago," he said.
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