Thorn has fathered 29 calves and has had five grandchildren during his time as the herd’s dominant bull.

Thorn was more than 16ft tall, weighed more than 1.3 tonnes and reached the exceptional age of 23 years, making him the oldest male Rothschild giraffe in Europe.

Born in Edinburgh, he had called Longleat home since 2012.

In recent years he has been enjoying his well-earned retirement.

Darren Beasley, Head of Animal Operations, said: “It is with huge sadness we are sharing this news today.

“Thorn has been experiencing ill-health for some time and supported by veterinary care, we have been able to maintain his quality of life using pain relief.

“However, he has been deteriorating and was struggling, in particular with age related arthritis in his legs, so we had to make the difficult decision to put him to sleep.

“We are supporting our keepers who have cared for him for many years and for whom Thorn was very much part of their extended family; decisions such as this one are a tough part of our work but when required it is the right thing to do for our animals in the same way many of us have to make similar decisions for domestic pets.”

In the wild the maximum life expectancy for a male is between 15-20 years. Many of Thorn’s descendants have been sent to zoological collections across Europe as the Safari Park has one of the most successful captive breeding programmes for Rothschild’s giraffes.