A Giraffe’s Last Goodbye — A Terminally Ill Man Returns to the Animals He Loved
The zoo was unusually quiet that afternoon, the kind of stillness that feels almost sacred. Sunlight filtered softly through the trees, falling on a hospital bed inside the giraffe enclosure. Lying there was Mario, 54, frail and tired, yet smiling despite the pain.
For over half his life, Mario had worked at Rotterdam’s Diergaarde Blijdorp Zoo. Though not officially a zookeeper, his heart belonged to the animals. As a maintenance worker, he spent decades cleaning the giraffe enclosure, repairing fences, feeding the animals, and caring for them as if they were family. The giraffes knew him — his voice, his scent, and the gentle rhythm of his daily visits.
But cancer had changed everything. Mario could no longer walk, work, or visit the animals he loved. In the hospital, he had just one wish: to see his giraffes one last time.
That wish was granted by the Ambulance Wish Foundation, a Dutch charity that fulfills the final wishes of terminally ill patients. When the ambulance arrived, staff and volunteers watched as Mario was wheeled into the enclosure. For the first time in months, he was home.