Man-made giraffe hurts two at Singapore Zoo

In a twist on an animal attack, two visitors to Singapore Zoo got injured when a steel structure shaped like a giraffe fell on them. Also find out how to keep your family safe at the zoo.

The Singapore Zoo is a favourite haunt for families and people of all ages but two people had their fun afternoon at the zoo cut short by a freak accident.

Falling ‘giraffes’
Two visitors got injured when a topiary in the shape of a giraffe fell on them at the zoo. A topiary is a a sculpture made out of metal wiring and plants. The topiary was located at the Rainforest Kidzworld, a popular spot in the zoo for families with young children. According to a report by The New Paper, the incident which happened on September 26 2012 at 1.30 pm involved a man and a woman who were injured, trying to avoid the topiary which had fallen at Singapore Zoo’s Rainforest Kidzworld.

The incident
One of the victims, Ms Ho, 25, recounted the moment the sculpture which was filled with soil and framed by metal wiring, fell on her back. She added that it had also hit an older Indian tourist. According to AsiaOne, she had actually started crying on the spot because her whole body was in so much pain. The two victims were immediately attended to and an ambulance brought them to the nearest hospital to be treated. Both victims were reported to have suffered several bone fractures and were hospitalised for a period of time.

Even though the zoo spokesman has assured visitors that the accident was an isolated incident and that they have since removed the other topiary located in the zoo, there are still preventive measures you can take so that unfortunate incidents do not happen to your brood while visiting the zoo.

Safety first
The zoo, being a famous tourist attraction is bound to get crowded, so to prevent your little one from wandering off and getting lost in the crowd, consider using a child safety leash, that ensures your child some freedom to walk around but you always have a hand on them. If you don’t have a safety leash or your child is too big or small for one, be sure to tape your tot’s personal information as well as your contact number so that should your child get seperated from you, it will be easy for zoo and safety personnel to reunite both of you.

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Written by

Wafa Marican

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