The BC SPCA is investigating the death of a 12-year-old giraffe at the Greater Vancouver Zoo over the weekend.

Facility staff say Jafari was found collapsed and lifeless in his heated barn at around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, marking the third giraffe to perish at the zoo in less than a year.

SPCA cruelty investigator Shawn Eccles said he’s hoping the latest incident will serve to shine light on whatever is causing the deaths.

“My understanding is the necropsy results from last year were inconclusive, so it would be really nice to find out what’s going on,” Eccles said.

But the Vancouver Humane Society says a simpler solution would be for the zoo to stop keeping giraffes altogether.

“There is research that shows it’s very hard to keep giraffes in captivity, in temperatures that are not in their natural habitat, unless they are given a very special diet,” said society spokesman Peter Fricker.

Zoo general manager Jody Henderson insisted that the animals’ diet did not contribute to their passing.

“We have a giraffe diet that is specific for northern climates. We’ve had the diet for a number of years. We know all this information,” Henderson said.

Henderson said every effort is being made to determine the cause of Jafari’s death, and that the animal will be missed.

“He was the most affectionate of our giraffes. He loved to kiss. He taught his son to kiss,” she said.

Preliminary necropsy results suggest Jafari was healthy, but more detailed tests are being conducted and the results will be made public.

Jafari’s three-year-old offspring Amryn died on Nov. 14, 2011, and was followed six days later by the calf’s 23-year-old mother Eleah.

Both deaths were considered premature. The average life expectancy of a giraffe in captivity is about 28 years.

In 2009, two other giraffes died at the Mountain View Conservation Centre in Langley, but they were determined to be caused by cold weather.

The only other giraffe to die recently at a Canadian zoo was euthanized in Calgary because of age-related issues.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Michele Brunoro