Animal care officials at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo had to euthanize a 20-year-old female giraffe tonight after she was unable to recover after an afternoon fall.
The giraffe named Uhura, was in the African Rift Valley exhibit accepting a cracker from zoo visitors when another giraffe stepped into her and she lost her footing. Uhura fell down a slope and couldn’t stand up.
The slope is intended to act as a barrier between the animals and zoo visitors.
Zoo staff, and firefigheters using heavy rescue equipment worked four hours to get Uhura to a standing position but found she could not remain standing on her own, officials said.
Uhura was then moved to a flat area and was sitting up, but not getting up. Her condition continued to decline, until veterinarians and animal care staff decided to euthanize Uhura.
A necropsy will be performed to determine the extent of the giraffe’s injuries.
Uhura had 10 offspring from 1995 through 2009, including seven females and three males. Five of the females still live at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
“It’s hard to lose old friends,” said Tracy Thessing, Director of Animal Collections, in a press release this evening. Thressing worked with Uhura since the giraffe’s birth.
