Tangi, Uganda’s friendly Giraffe dies

This week has been one of the worst weeks for the tourism industry of Uganda due to the sudden death of Tangi, a giraffe which every tourist has been finding friendlier than other animals. The touching news of the death emerged on Monday this week after confirmation by the doctors at the Uganda Wildlife Education Center. At first, people especially those who knew how friendly Tangi was did not believe until when they saw some photos of their fallen friend who spiced up their Safaris while in Uganda.

This tragedy was a bad moment for the country as a whole especially the Uganda Wildlife Authority as a renowned friend to the visitors was being lost for good. It is on record at the Center that 100% of the tourists on their visit to the site gave positive comments about the giraffe. Its love for the people educed many to spend more time looking at it admiring how it generated the confidence to come closer to human beings. On several occasions, it was seen lowering its head to sniff on the visitors’ heads that fed and played with it. Taking a photo with Tangi was not a hustle as it is with other animals at the center because of the confidence it had to stand freely with the human beings.

According to the doctors at the center, the giraffe died due to intestine blockage which caused digestion problems. They tried to treat it in time but suddenly, it was found dead early on Monday morning.

The death of Tangi (the beloved Giraffe) came few months after Uganda had lost a mountain gorilla (Mishaya) in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The gorilla died of the same cause (digestion complications) and this has left the Uganda Wildlife Authorities wondering what should be done to save the animals. One of the doctors at the Center where the giraffe was living said that one of the possible causes for stomach problems is inadequate consumption of water. He said that once an animal eats a lot of food especially vegetables and it does not take enough water, there are higher chances of experiencing stomach complications similar to those that killed Tangi.

He therefore urged the government to increase the number of drinking points in the national parks to enable the animals drink water at anytime of the day.

Uganda is the leading tourism destination in Africa and many visitors from different parts of the world visit the country mainly to look at the rear wild animals that this “Pearl of Africa boosts of”. Some come to carry out gorilla tracking, chimpanzee trekking, bird watching, nature walks, cultural tours and other adventurous activities. However, there is need by the government to save the wild animals if it’s to continue attracting more visitors. Last year, the country recorded an increase in the number of Uganda safaris and 47% of the visitors came specifically for wildlife viewing meaning that wild animals are contributing a lot to the tourism sector.