Being a zookeeper isn’t all playing with baby lemurs and bear hugs from actual bears.
From time to time, tragedy strikes the zoo and it can be utterly devastating – as viewers saw last night.
Channel 4’s Secret Life of the Zoo has been letting people into the goings-on at Chester Zoo, as babies are born, illnesses are cured and behaviours are explained.
But in among last night’s lighthearted scenes of Sun Bears snoozing and baby rhinos being born, a very sad event took place that left many viewers heartbroken.
Shan-shan the camel had been withdrawn and not her usual self, leaving keepers Michael and Sarah very concerned.
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Michael said: “She’s not behaving as normal, she’s not going out with the other two as much as she would normally. She’s hanging back.
“We’ve noticed the fact that she’s not eating as much.”
Sarah went on to say: “Camels are not fussy eaters. They’ll push you over to get to food. But Shan-shan, she’s not interested.”
As Shan-shan’s condition worsened, it was decided that an operation was necessary to see what was the matter.
She was knocked out and given an intravenous drip, as her two camel friends, Becky and Mei-Li, hovered anxiously nearby.
Michael said: “Animals can really sense when something’s not quite right with another animal.
“Becky and Mei-Li probably can tell that something is up with Shan-shan.”
Unfortunately for Shan-shan, she was diagnosed with kidney failure which was completely incurable, so the sad decision was made to end her life.
Emotional zookeeper Michael said: “I’m absolutely gutted, we’ve put so much time and TLC trying to get Shan-shan back up to fighting strength. It’s horrible.
“Some problems you can’t deal with, you can’t solve. When that happens it’s heartbreaking.”
Viewers took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the emotional journey.
One wrote: “So much respect for zookeepers! Sobbing :(“.
Another said: “Oh Shan Shan.. breaks my heart when animals die.. bothers me more than humans”.
One month afterwards, the cameras picked back up with Becky and Mei-Li, the surviving camel pair, who were adapting to life without their friend.
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Keeper Michael said: “The positive aspect of it is that Becky and Mei-Li are sticking quite close to each other.
“I think the guys have got used to having us around a little bit more, I feel like I’ve got a bit of a bond with them. It’s quite sweet.”