Navy 'trousers' spell hope for giraffe

Press, 21 September 1977, Page 9

Navy 'trousers' spell hope for giraffe

NZPA-Reuter London Two pairs of trousers may! end the plight of Victor, the giraffe who did the splits, when a fresh attempt to; hoist him to his feet is made today. His tailors—three experts from the Royal Navy—have measured him for special legwear. The men, who specialise in making canvas slings, were called in by Victor’s zoo at Marwell Park, near Winchester, to produce some sort of cradle in which he could be raised. The trousers, one pair for each pair of legs, were being

i made at Portsmouth dock-i yard yesterday. ■I “It’s a bit of a problem be-! . cause we have never had to ' make trousers for a giraffe ’ before,” said one of the m . ' A five-metre-high gantry s has been built with scaffolding so that Victor can be . winched up from four lifting ' points. 1 The zoo’s owner, Mr John Knowles, said he still did not rate Victor’s chances at more than 50-50. ' One of the great difficul- ! ties is avoiding damage to : his neck or his legs. Another is that stress could lead to a ' heart attack. i Victor collapsed last Thursday, apparently while ■ trying to mate with one of his three wives.