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Zoo Loses Eldest Giraffe
BY: Rod HackneySep. 14, 2010
The North Carolina Zoo has lost one of it oldest and best-known residents. Julie, the park's 33-year-old female giraffe and the second oldest giraffe in captivity, passed away overnight Monday.Keepers found the 15-foot-tall animal deceased when they arrived for work Tuesday morning. According to Zoo Senior Veterinarian Dr. Ryan DeVoe, Julie had been under "intense treatment" for osteoarthritis and other problems associated with her age for many years.
A necropsy, or animal autopsy, performed at the zoo's Hanes Veterinary Medical Center Tuesday revealed Julie had suffered a ruptured aorta caused by pressure from cancerous growths at the base of the heart, DeVoe said.
In recent months the elderly giraffe's health had deteriorated and a closed-circuit television camera provided by Randolph Telephone had been used to monitor her during the evenings. The giraffe appeared okay on the camera around 10:30 p.m. Monday, keepers reported.
Julie was born in March 1977 at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., and was transferred to the N.C. Zoo in July 1979. According to official records by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, Julie was the second oldest giraffe in captivity. Clara, a female giraffe at the Bronx (New York) Zoo, remains the eldest at age 35. Giraffes normally live 20 to 25 years.
Meanwhile, the N.C. Zoo's other giraffes, three males and a female ranging in age from 2 ½ to 3 years, remain on exhibit and in good health. Another one-year-old female is slated to arrive in Asheboro in November from Zoo Miami (Fla.), a transfer that has been planned since earlier this year.