Hogle Zoo lost two giraffes last weekend when it was forced to euthanize the animals following unrelated incidents.
Ruth, a 26-year-old female giraffe, had to be euthanized Saturday after complications from a fractured back left leg.
The zoo's other reticulated giraffe, 10-year-old Kisii (pronounced ca-sigh), had to be put down Sunday after she collapsed and suffered a sharp health decline, possibly from cancer.
"It's a very sad thing," said Stacey Phillips, marketing manager for Hogle Zoo. "To lose two back-to-back . . . is a double tragedy."
Sandile, a 7-year-old male giraffe, died Jan. 2, 2002, after getting its neck caught in some fencing.
Phillips said she knows some critics will try to compare all three deaths but said the zoo has spent $50,000 to improve the giraffe enclosure to ensure the animals have the best and safest possible living area.
The improvements included new stainless steel mesh barriers, new flooring surfaces and improvements to an outdoor paddock.
"We can't say if the broken leg was building-related," she said.
The zoo staff will sit down soon and evaluate the situations and decide how soon they might consider getting any giraffe replacements.
Hogle Zoo has just two giraffes now, both of the Baringo species of giraffe.
Phillips said the life span for giraffes is generally in the 20- to 25-year range, so Ruth was very advanced in age.
The zoo's overnight security checked the giraffe building at 6:45 a.m. Saturday and reported Ruth and Kisii were lying down near each other and seemed to be doing fine. The primary giraffe keeper arrived a little after 8 a.m. and discovered Ruth had an open wound to her leg. She was up and moving about, but seemed to be favoring her back left leg.
The giraffe was then moved into a Giraffe Restraint Device, designed to facilitate access to a giraffe for medical procedures and checkups. The GRD enabled additional support to be administered to Ruth, to help relieve the pressure on the injured leg while the veterinary staff analyzed the situation.
Veterinary personnel then took X-rays of the leg and immediately consulted with local equine surgeons on the possibilities of repairing the broken leg. In the interim, staff provided supportive care and comfort, including administering pain medication.
However, due to the extremely poor prospect of successful surgical repair, and because of Ruth's advanced age (which could cause complications during surgery and recovery), the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize her.
Ruth came to Hogle Zoo in July 1978 from the Denver Zoo. She had nine offspring and was the seventh oldest giraffe in the country.
Kisii had started to show increasing signs of health problems over the last two months. The zoo's veterinary staff had been treating a variety of ailments including nosebleeds, weight loss, anemia and a general decline in her body condition.
The veterinary staff had been monitoring her closely and treatment became even more aggressive Jan. 31, when she began to show an escalating decline in health. She collapsed Sunday and was humanely euthanized, and a necropsy was conducted. Preliminary evaluations are suggestive of cancer, but confirming pathology reports will take several weeks.
The giraffe building at Hogle Zoo opened in 1969. The unique two-story building was, according to the zoo's records, the first exhibit to offer visitors the opportunity to view giraffes from ground level or eye-to-eye. The giraffe building meets the safety requirements outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com