The park ranger who found him immediately knew something was wrong…
These park rangers couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the giraffe in the distance. They immediately knew something was seriously wrong. It was their job to find out exactly what it was and how they could solve it. They were completely shocked when they realized what the problem was.
It was their job to save this giraffe, but it looked like they might be in over their heads…
There was no way they could’ve missed the giraffe, because he was extremely large. giraffes didn’t normally get this fat, so that already raised a lot of questions for park ranger Paul Deen. He decided to drive closer to the giraffe so he could take a better look at what was going on with the animal.
He couldn’t believe what he saw…
Ranger Paul knew he was in over his head. This wasn’t something he encountered every day, which meant he wasn’t prepared to deal with the situation. He decided to call one of his veterinarian contacts, who might be able to help the giraffe out. He looked like he needed the help. And quick.
Paul hoped he was still on time to help the poor giraffe…
Paul worked in the Kafue National Park in Zambia, one of the biggest national parks in Africa. It covers a massive area in western Zambia and is known for its abundant wildlife and the Kafue River, which runs north to south through the park.
He was extremely lucky to have found the giraffe in this massive park. But was there still time to save it?
It had been five years since Paul started working in the Kafue National Park. During this time, he had seen a lot. His love for nature and wildlife motivated him to do his very best, every single day. He was known by the other rangers for the personal care and affection he showed to every single animal.
It came as no surprise to them that he was the one who would do everything to save this poor giraffe…
It wasn’t the first time that Paul would set everything aside to help a single animal who really needed his help. For example, he had once found a gazelle who was stuck in a hole in the ground. He had spent hours trying to get the wild animal out of the hole. In the end, he succeeded. It was the best feeling he had ever felt in his life: he had saved an animal.
He was reminded of this day when he saw the fat giraffe in the distance…
He had never seen anything like this. There were a lot of giraffes in the national park, but none of them had ever been this fat. You just didn’t get this fat in nature, especially when you spend your days walking around trying to find food to survive. There was something seriously wrong here and Paul was going to help to the best of his ability.
But would it be enough?
It was a regular day at work for Paul. He had spent the morning discussing the plan for the day with the other rangers. There were poachers around, so their plan was to keep an eye open for any suspicious activity or shady figures.
This briefing could not have prepared him for what he was about to encounter…
Seeing any giraffe at all in this part of the park was strange. This was not the territory of any known group of giraffes, so Paul was shocked when he saw the lone giraffe walking around. He must’ve wandered off from his family. This wasn’t the only shocking thing, however. The sheer size of the giraffe was unbelievable.
Paul knew there was something wrong.
What would cause a giraffe to grow so fat and wander off without the rest of his group? This wasn’t normal giraffe behavior, so Paul knew something was wrong. He just didn’t realize how wrong it was just yet. He would soon find out the shocking truth behind the giant giraffe.
The ranger approached to get a better look at what was going on.
Paul had already realized that something was seriously wrong when he was still at a large distance from the giraffe, but now that he was close there was no denying the seriousness of the issue. He immediately called a veterinarian and giraffe expert, because there was no way he could handle this on his own.
All he could do was pray that the vet would show up in time…
The vet arrived within minutes, he had just finished a task close by. Paul was extremely glad to see him, because this meant they might be able to save the giraffe. The vet took one look at the giraffe and immediately knew something was seriously wrong. They sedated the fat beast and took him to the closest hospital.
They hoped they would be able to save the giraffe…
Paul was not allowed in the surgery room, so he spent his time pacing around the waiting room. He knew something was wrong with the giraffe, but what was it? Would they be able to save him? There were so many questions… Paul’s love for animals made the wait feel like an eternity.
Then the door to the surgery room opened and the doctor walked out.
“I can’t believe this!”, the veterinarian yelled. He looked shocked. What had happened in the surgery room? What was the doctor so shocked about? Paul approached the vet with these questions, but he didn’t get an answer. “Sorry, I have to hurry. Hold on”, the man said.
He paced off, leaving Paul in confusion. What was going on?
Paul followed the veterinarian, barely keeping up with the man’s walking speed. When they reached the phones, the vet stopped and immediately dialed the police. Apparently he had found something that was serious enough to want to immediately notify the authorities.
Did this have anything to do with the poachers who had been seen around the national park?
The vet spent five minutes on the phone. Paul tried to make sense of the conversation, but he only understood snippets. Apparently the doctor had found something during the surgery, something that had shocked him and his assistants like nothing ever had. When the vet finally hung up the phone, Paul bombarded him with questions.
What was going on? Why did the police need to be notified? Was the giraffe alright?
Finally the vet had time to answer ranger Paul’s questions. He had found something inside the giraffe, something that was extremely shocking. The vet had never seen anything like this during his long career, but he knew he had to notify the police immediately. He apologized for having to make Paul wait on his explanation, but calling the police had been urgent.
He finally told Paul what was wrong with the fat giraffe.
During the five years Paul had been working in the national park, he had spent his time trying to make life better for the thousands of wild animals that inhabited it. Part of his job was looking out for poachers, who wanted to hunt down the animals in order to sell parts of them for a lot of money. This practice was illegal, but the money still attracted a lot of people trying to get rich.
These poachers had gone after the giraffe…
The vet explained that during the surgery, they had found a tracking device in the giraffe’s stomach. The poachers were tracking the giraffe, so that they could hunt him down whenever he strayed too far away from his group and the park rangers. They were using high-tech equipment to aid them in their activities.
This didn’t go as planned, however…
The body of the giraffe had tried to expel the foreign object, which lead to an infection and swelling of the stomach. The giraffe was extremely lucky that he had been spotted by Paul, because he wouldn’t have lasted long. He had grown enormously bloated because of the infection.
This also explained why the giraffe had wandered off so far from his group…
He had probably been wandering alone because he felt seriously ill. The vet explained that the giraffe probably ingested meat that the poachers had left behind, with the tracking device already in it. These criminals didn’t care about the welfare of the animal, they just wanted to make money off him.
This broke Paul’s heart. He was so glad to have found the giraffe when he did. But this was not all…
The vet had been able to remove the tracker from the giraffe’s stomach. With the right antibiotics, rest and a lot of time, he expected the giraffe to be able to make it. With the device removed, he also didn’t have to worry about being tracked by the poachers. It looked like everything would be alright.
It didn’t look that way for the poachers, who had made a big mistake…
The police investigated the tracker and found out that the poachers had used a device that also worked the other way. This meant they could track down the poachers and arrest them. They prepared for an operation in which they were planning to catch the people who had done this terrible thing to the poor giraffe.
They gathered at the poachers’ hideout.
The operation was a huge success. The police managed to arrest ten poachers in their hideout and also found a huge stash of illegal animal produce. Without the tracker, they would have not been able to put such a large dent in this illegal operation. And it all started with a fat giraffe on the horizon…
They decided to thank ranger Paul.
They gave Paul a medal for his service. The park was safer again, thanks to the watchful eye of the ranger. The giraffe managed to fully recover and was reunited with his family. He is still alive today and you might be able to see him if you visit the Kafue National Park in Zambia.
