A zoo manager in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk has been suspended after a third giraffe in a month died, the local mayor's office said on Monday.
"A third giraffe, Zabava, died on Sunday. Mayor Edkham Akbulatov has ordered a special commission to be set up to find out why they died," the mayor's office said. "The zoo manager has been suspended while this process is taking place," he said.
The zoo would not comment on the situation.
The first giraffe died on September 26, followed by a second on October 2. It was previously reported that the first one died of organ failure while the second died of stress.
Six giraffes were delivered to the zoo from South Africa in 2007, and were an instant hit with the public.
After the first two died, zoo director Nikolai Kulakov insisted the giraffes were kept in excellent conditions and insisted the two deaths in such a short period were purely coincidence.
Krasnoyarsk's Royev Ruchei Zoo is one of Russia's largest with an area of 74 acres (30 ha).
