A zoo sparked fury after it fed one of its giraffes to a lion after the animal died.
The attraction was flooded with complaints after it said it fed an elderly giraffe that had died to the carnivore.
Defending its actions, Ostrava zoo in Cezch Republic, pointed out “it would happen in nature”.
It shared a picture on their social media of the king of the jungle devouring the giraffe’s corpse after the 19-year-old animal had to be put down.
Instead of letting its body go to waste, the zoo used meat from the 300kg animal to feed other animals in the zoo.
In a post defending what took place, Zoo spokeswoman Šárka Nováková said: “The giraffe first fell down, was breathing heavily and did not get up again.
“Everything pointed to heart failure. Due to the general condition, hypoxia, age and stress of the animal, we proceeded to euthanise it.
“Meat from more than 300kg animal was used as food for domestic animals and other carnivores, as it would happen in nature.”
However, the post was accompanied by a picture of the lion chowing down on a piece of the elderly giraffe and it drew the fury of some online.
One distressed viewer said: “Very sad ... even if it's the law of nature, the photo is out of place…”
Another echoed the sentiment and wrote: “I do not consider the photo choice the happiest. Maybe some nice snapshot of the same giraffe happily walking around the zoo?
“When we inform about the death of a person, we will give a nice photo while he is alive, not how worms come out of his eyes.... because it is also natural, right?”
But in response, the zoo said: “The giraffe was already old, it was 19 years old. In nature, the age of giraffes can be close to 20 years.
“In human care, the age of life is usually higher, animals often exceed 20 years. The giraffe was healthy, until after the collapse it was found that it had a weaker heart.
“She was shot and then fed. We currently have two young giraffes - one male and one female, breeding will certainly continue and expand.”
Others, however, understood the course of action more and appreciated the lack of waste.
One person commented: “This is life, what do you think a lion does for a living?”
Another said: “The giraffe lived a good life, even in captivity. It's good that meat was put to use.”
Yet another commented: ‘The right decision, at least it was used. I just think it would be better to take a picture of a Lion without a piece of a giraffe. People read the comments, not everyone needs to see it.’
And a third commented: “Great that the zoo can show the public the reality. There’s nothing to be ashamed of!
“Unfortunately Disney is usually leading in public so people lose concept of reality…”
Rothschild’s giraffes, the species of the animal that died, normally live 10-15 years in the wild, but can get upwards of 25 years old in captivity.
The subspecies is incredibly endangered, and only a few hundred can be found in the wild in Kenya and Uganda.
