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p to 20 kilograms of plastic was found in the stomach of a giraffe named Kliwon, who died in his stall at Surabaya Zoo on Thursday evening.

Kliwon was the last giraffe at the East Java provincial capital’s tourist attraction.

“The plastic was apparently in the food he’d been eating for years and accumulated in his stomach,” Surabaya Zoo management team chief Tony Sumampaw said Friday.

Tony said he regretted the giraffe’s death, saying that the giraffe had already been treated by the zoo’s medical team.

Kliwon’s body had undergone an autopsy at Airlangga University’s pathology department. Some of the remains were also sent to the East Java Police’s forensic department.

According to the zoo’s medical team, the plastic had clogged Kliwon’s digestive system.

The 21-year-old giraffe collapsed in his stall one day before his death. The zoo’s giraffe keeper said that Kliwon had lost his appetite over the previous few days.

Tony said the plastic had allegedly damaged Kliwon’s stomach, making it very hard for him to eat.

The East Java Wildlife Conservation Forum (Foksi) blamed a prolonged dispute over the zoo’s management for the death of the African animal.

“This is outrageous; we should end this. We demand every party [to the dispute] to reconcile for the sake of the animal’s welfare,” Foksi program manager Indra Harsaputra said.

Indra said hundreds of animals in the zoo had died over the past five years due to neglect.

“There should be a solution from all disputing parties to solve this issue. We just want the animals to live well,” he emphasized.

The dispute over the zoo’s management has long been a problematic issue.

The Surabaya city administration claimed that it had the right to manage the zoo because it owned the 15 hectares upon which the zoo is situated.

Meanwhile, the Forestry Ministry, through the Natural Resources Conservation Agency, appointed the Surabaya Zoo management team to manage the zoo as the Surabaya administration was not entitled to act in a management capacity.

Tony said the zoo could not afford to get another giraffe to replace Kliwon due to financial constraints.

The 15-hectare zoo is home to 2,025 animals from 249 different species. Many have said that the zoo is overpopulated. According to official data, 2,204 animals at Surabaya Zoo had died between 2006 and 2011.

The zoo announced earlier this year that 14 of its animals, including a babirusa, a Bawean deer, a koala, an American black bear, a camel and a Sumatran tiger, were currently on the brink of death.

The American black bear has a skin tumor and the Sumatran tiger is suffering from digestive problems, while the camel has wounds on its head and legs.

Two komodo dragons died due to neglect in 2011, while three other komodo dragons were stolen from their cages.