The oldest male Rothschild giraffe in Europe has died at a Wiltshire safari park.

Longleat Safari Park, near Warminster, has announced 23-year-old Thorn was put to sleep after experiencing ill-health for some time.

Standing at over 16ft tall and weighing more than 1.3 tonnes, Edinburgh-born Thorn had been the park’s dominant bull since 2012.

In that time, he fathered 29 calves and had five grandchildren.

He had recently been enjoying his well-earned retirement.

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Thorn the giraffe at LongleatThorn the giraffe at Longleat (Image: Longleat Safari Park)

Head of animal operations, Darren Beasley, said: “It is with huge sadness we are sharing this news.

“Thorn has been experiencing ill-health for some time and supported by veterinary care, we have been able to maintain his quality of life using pain relief.

“However, he has been deteriorating and was struggling, in particular with age-related arthritis in his legs, so we had to make the difficult decision to put him to sleep.

“We are supporting our keepers who have cared for him for many years and for whom Thorn was very much part of their extended family.

“Decisions such as this one are a tough part of our work but when required it is the right thing to do for our animals.”

In the wild, the maximum life expectancy for a male giraffe is between 15 and 20 years.