The 22-year-old mammal, older than captive camels and therefore more at risk of heat exhaustion, exhibited some of the classic signs of heatstroke before she died last week. “We are very sad about her death – she was a sweet animal who used to get very close to us during feeding,” said Haruna Hiros, a veterinarian at the zoo.
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Hiroko Oyama, the zoo’s director, said Hitomi had underlying symptoms that may have made her more sensitive to heat. The city of Okazaki, where the zoo is located, recorded a record high of 36.8 degrees just a day before the camel died. Such temperatures prompted the district to issue a heat stroke alert.
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Hitomi joined the sad statistics of a number of animals suffering or dying as temperatures rose to record levels around the world. Earlier this year, a severe heat wave in India caused birds to fall from the sky from exhaustion and heatstroke. Temperatures in parts of the country reached 50 degrees Celsius, and bird rescuers reported receiving an unusual amount of calls about sick birds.