Pregnant giraffe at Utah’s Hogle Zoo unexpectedly dies

Author: Wendy Leonard

Leonard, Wendy. “Pregnant Giraffe at Utah's Hogle Zoo Unexpectedly Dies.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 8 Jan. 2020, www.deseret.com/utah/2020/1/8/21056938/pregnant-giraffe-at-utahs-hogle-zoo-unexpectedly-dies.

SALT LAKE CITY — A pregnant giraffe at Utah’s Hogle Zoo caught handlers by surprise when a sudden illness set in on Sunday afternoon.

Pogo, who was due to give birth in about five months, died early Monday — along with her unborn calf.

“We’re just heartbroken,” Melissa Farr, lead giraffe keeper, said Wednesday. “We lost her in about 24 hours.”

Farr said Pogo’s “behavior was just off” on Sunday, as she wasn’t eating normally and wouldn’t interact with keepers. Animal instinct is to protect themselves by hiding any symptoms and zoo staff wasn’t aware of any problems with Pogo until it was too late.

“We were keeping a close eye on her,” Farr said, adding that an animal’s upset stomach typically resolves on its own after a day or so. The 17-year-old Rothschild giraffe was being carefully monitored, even through the night, as she was in late-term pregnancy.

Keepers were worried Pogo might be preparing for an early delivery or stillbirth, Farr said.

Animal autopsy results showed Pogo had abnormal intestines. Zoo pathologists collected tissue samples and other cultures for further research and microscopic analysis.

The calf in utero was discovered to be a male and was in perfect condition, but was too small to be saved.

“At 48 pounds, there would have been no way to save him, as he was only a third of a proper birth weight,” said Dr. Nancy Carpenter, Hogle’s director of animal health. She said they don’t believe Pogo’s problems were related to the pregnancy.

“Her calf was getting big and sometimes they stick their feet places and cause issues,” Carpenter said. “We’re going to look into everything to see what might have caused such an acute decline.”

Pogo was born in 2002 and came to Hogle Zoo in 2005. She was always “quite curious” about what was going on around her, Farr said.

“She was a wonderful companion to the other giraffes and a perfect mother to her calves,” she added. Pogo has given birth to two babies, including Georgetta in 2018 and Willow in 2016. Her first pregnancy, at age 9, resulted in a stillbirth in 2011.

Unlike the other giraffes, who took shelter in the barn when colder temperatures presented, Pogo “loved the cold,” Farr said. “Pogo liked to be outside and feel the cool air.”

She said guests might remember feeding Pogo during the summer months and watching her keep an eye on the young giraffes at the zoo’s African Savanna exhibit.

Pogo will continue to be an ambassador for the threatened species. Fat tissue was collected from Pogo to be used in generating new stem cells for other giraffes in need.

Another giraffe, Kipenzi, was euthanized by Hogle Zoo staff last year in July, after she had also been experiencing intestinal issues. Kipenzi was 15 years old at the time and also joined the other giraffes in Utah in 2005.

Giraffes were classified in 2016 as “vulnerable to extinction,” with a rapid decline likely due to a growing human population, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Giraffes are native to the African savanna and are most commonly found in southern and eastern Africa.

Hogle Zoo still has three giraffes on display — an adult male giraffe, 16-year-old Riley, as well as two young females, Minka, age 3, and 15-month-old Georgetta.

DMU Timestamp: February 07, 2020 23:04

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