A photographer captured the incredible moment a giraffe said goodbye to his dying friend on Wednesday. The mentally disabled cancer patient, who spent his career working as a maintenance man at a zoo in the Netherlands, was taken into the enclosure in his hospital bed, lying waiting for his friends to bid him farewell.
Known only as Mario, the 54-year-old was immediately approached by one giraffe who shared this touching kiss.
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Speaking to the Rotterdam newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, Kees Veldboer, the director of Ambulance Wish Foundation, which organised the final visit, said: "You could see him totally light up… it's very special to see that those animals recognise him, and sense that he isn't doing well."
