Calcutta, May 24: A giraffe whose neck struck a roadside pole on the way from Alipore zoo to Orissa’s Nandankanan died after waiting for proper treatment for more than 12 hours as officials couldn’t decide whether to carry on or return.

The accident took place early on Friday near Bagnan in Howrah, and Sundar, the strapping 11-year-old male, might have survived had its escorts decided fast to go back to Calcutta, a couple of hours’ drive from the spot.

They did return to Alipore, but about 4 in the afternoon after the directors of the two zoos had a talk over the phone. Some five-and-a-half hours later, about 9.30, Sundar was dead.

“When it left, it was hale and hearty. We have sent the body for a post-mortem,” Alipore zoo director Subir Chowdhury said.

The four-member team, which had arrived from Nandankanan to take the Calcutta-born giraffe as part of an exchange programme, had left around 11.30 on Thursday night.

Near Bagnan, Sundar — in a wooden crate atop a trailer, its long neck sticking out — suddenly let out a shrill cry. Its neck had hit a pole. “The animal collapsed in the crate and was in pain,” Chowdhury said.

A Calcutta zoo official said a vet, who was part of the team, attended to the injury. “But things didn’t seem to work.”

Around noon on Friday, the official said, Alipore zoo authorities got a call from Nandankanan. “Officials from Nandankanan called us asking whether the giraffe could be treated at our hospital since it was technically their property. We told them it could be treated at our hospital and it was decided they would return to Calcutta.” But by then, it was too late.

Sundar’s death — giraffes usually live around 25 years in the wild and longer in captivity — has also raised questions about the mode of transport used. “Ideally, a giraffe should be transported with a movable ceiling, lots of ventilation, and enough space to allow it to turn, lie down or stand,” said Sanat Das, a former conservator of forests.

Zoo officials said the crate Sundar was being transported in was not comfortable for an eight-to-10-hour journey.