Photo: Dallas Zoo
The Dallas Zoo is in mourning again.
On Monday, the Texas facilityannounced on Facebookthat its 14-year-old giraffe Jesse died on Oct. 29. Jesse is the third giraffe to die at the zoo in one month.
Just last week, the zoo shared the sad news that its19-year-old giraffe Auggie diedafter battling “age-related health issues that led to liver failure.”
Now, keepers are concerned that Auggie and Jesse’s death could be linked due to Jesse’s blood test results, “which showed abnormal liver enzymes.”
“Currently, while we suspect the two deaths may be connected, 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 necropsy results from both giraffes pointed to liver damage, which is leading us to focus on the possibility that they were exposed to a toxin of some sort, either through a food source, in the exhibit space, or introduced via a foreign object,” the zoo shared online, adding that experts are also testing for Zoonotic diseases.
The Dallas Zoo’s first giraffe death of October,the loss of a 3-month-old calf named Marekani, has no links to Jesse and Auggie’s passing. The zoo humanely euthanized Marekani after the giraffe calf sustained a “catastrophic” injury.
In response to their findings, the Dallas Zoo will add “substrate material in areas that showed some erosion, and we also will be installing cameras around the habitat.”
Dallas Zoo (2)
As for Jesse and Auggie, the zoo is intensely working to “find a possible link between these two deaths and determine what may have led to this.”
“The lab results we depend on for diagnosis and confirmation simply cannot come fast enough — for us, and for you. We know it’s difficult to hear about these losses. We hope explanations and openness like this help you trust that no one cares more for these animals or grieves more over the losses than the animal care and veterinary teams here at the Zoo,” the Dallas Zoo shared in Jesse’s death announcement.
The facility added that they have also put “preventative measures” in place across their animal care teams to protect its giraffe heard and other animal residents. These measures include “limiting giraffe movements and access to the habitat and feed yard,” discarding food supplies and replacing them with fresh crops, “closely monitoring giraffe and similar hoofstock for any signs of illness,” and “conducting regular blood draws to monitor liver enzyme levels.”
The Dallas Zoo wrote that it plans to keep animal lovers updated on their efforts to learn more about Auggie and Jesse’s deaths and the status of the rest of their giraffe herd through social media.
source: people.com
