Dallas Zoo reports third giraffe death in a month

Dallas Zoo recently reported its third giraffe death in the last month.

The 14-year-old male, Jesse, died on Oct. 29 “despite aggressive treatment and heroic efforts by animal care staff,” the zoo wrote on Facebook. He had begun showing signs of illness two days prior.

Auggie, a 19-year-old male, just died the week before, originally believed a cause of old age. But both necropsy results pointed to liver damage, which leads the zoo to believe the deaths may have been connected and that the giraffes were exposed to a toxin through a food source or foreign object.

“We are still working towards definitive proof. We are doing extensive lab testing on blood and tissue samples from Jesse and Auggie to identify commonalities and further pinpoint what may have happened,” the zoo wrote.

In early October, the zoo noticed a limp in the 3-month-old female calf, Marekani. They prescribed pain medication but noticed it had quickly worsened, and upon evaluation, veterinarians determined that she had dislocated her right elbow and fractured her radius, ulna and growth plate, which the zoo said would result in long-term orthopedic deformities, lifelong pain and arthritis.

“Due to their large stature and because giraffes bear the majority of their weight on the front limbs, it is nearly impossible to repair an injury like this in a way that is robust enough to stand up to the normal stress of movement and activity,” the zoo wrote. “Sadly, injuries like this are catastrophic for giraffes, and there was no hope of recovery. Given this prognosis, the team made the incredibly difficult decision to humanely euthanize Marekani.”

She is the third giraffe calf to die at the zoo since 2015.