COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) _ Opera may be sweet to some people’s ears. But to one animal, the strains of Wagner were fatal.

The Copenhagen Zoo said Tuesday that one of its okapis - a rare African mammal related to the giraffe - died from stress apparently triggered by opera singers rehearsing 300 yards away in a park.

The 6-year-old okapi, Katanda, collapsed after Royal Theater performers began singing selections from ″Tannhauser″ on Friday, zoo spokesman Peter Haase said.

″She started hyperventilating, went into shock and collapsed,″ he said. ″We did all we could, but she died Saturday.″

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Okapi can be severely affected by unusual sounds, he said. An autopsy determined the animal suffered a severe ″stress″ attack.

Katanda was brought to the zoo last year from the San Diego Zoo. Eight months ago, she gave birth to a calf in Copenhagen.

Haase said neither the calf nor a male okapi appeared to react severely to the singing. The sound had no apparent effect on other zoo animals, he said.

The Royal Theater ″very deeply regretted the animal’s death,″ said a spokesman, Jon Stephensen. He said the upcoming concert will likely be moved away from the zoo.