Orana Wildlife Park has admitted a newborn giraffe managed to escape one of its enclosures, and then died on a freezing cold night in 2021.
The Christchurch zoo is describing the situation as tragic and "an extremely rare case of human error".
But the news has only come to light through a 1News investigation, which includes interviews with 20 current and former Orana staff.
The investigation has uncovered multiple animal deaths and injuries, including many details that have never been revealed before. One of those is the incident with the newborn giraffe, which was never publicised when it happened in August 2021.
READ MORE: Buried trauma: Zookeepers expose animal deaths at Orana Wildlife Park
A 1News investigation has uncovered a raft of concerning animal welfare issues at the Christchurch zoo. (Source: 1News)
Four sources told 1News that nobody at Orana was aware the calf had been born until it was found dead, one morning, in a neighbouring outdoor enclosure.
A photo leaked to 1News shows the calf, a girl, at its post-mortem. The cause of death could not be conclusively proven, but it was a cold Canterbury night and exposure could not be ruled out.
One of those on the scene that morning was then maintenance worker Jordan Dejager, who said it was traumatising.
"It was one of those horrendously stormy nights in Christchurch, where it was sort of a freak storm had come in," he said.
When asked, Orana confirmed the death and blamed its keepers. The team did not notice a birth was imminent, which would have been clearly evident, it said.
The zoo also said keepers didn't seek advice from their manager, and a door was left open.
"The entire team were devastated by this tragic incident that could have been prevented," it said.
The public was never told of the calf's birth or death, and it was never named.
Orana claimed an internal investigation had been carried out and it could not reveal the details publicly to protect the privacy of the keepers involved.
In the 1News investigation, several current and former keepers have described feeling isolated, or ignored by the park's management.
Several other deaths were described, including some relating to other giraffes, a gorilla and cheetah at the park.
Orana has pushed back against the allegations and suggested some of them are inaccurate.
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