Baby Giraffe Dies At Virginia Zoo Two Weeks After Birth

The atmosphere at the Virginia Zoo has become gloomy because a 2-week-old baby giraffe passed away on Saturday, November 3.

According to a news report by KRON 4, the Virginia Zoo announced on Saturday that the baby giraffe — which they named Baby G — had passed away. According to zoo officials, the giraffe was not feeling well and its condition worsened on Wednesday, October 31, when it started behaving differently and lost its appetite.

Zoo veterinarians immediately recognized the giraffe’s decline in health and started working to save the calf’s life, the report detailed.

“Our calf was given every viable option to help him, including antibiotics, fluids, and plasma transfusions — which help to boost the immune systems of neonate giraffe calves that don’t nurse from their mothers right away.”

According to a report by WSB Radio, the baby giraffe had developed complications after its birth on October 13. According to the zoo’s official Facebook page, it’s not uncommon for giraffes to develop complications “despite the best efforts made to support their survival and even after seeing improvements, as we did with Baby G.”

The Facebook post further detailed that as soon as Baby G started losing its appetite and showed a change in behavior, blood tests were carried out which showed a serious infection. The post also informed that just like human beings, giraffe calves that do not nurse from their mothers within the first 24 hours have a more fragile immune system and are more vulnerable to health-related problems.

https://www.facebook.com/thevirginiazoo/photos/a.418264573053/10156868131628054/?type=3&theater

The WSB Radio report further detailed that the condition of the giraffe was closely monitored by the zoo’s extremely dedicated Veterinary and Zoo Keeper team throughout the day.

Baby G was the first calf for his mother, Noelle.

“Mom Noelle, as well as our other two giraffes, Billy and Imara, are all doing well and are adjusting to the changes that have occurred over the past few days,” the zoo officials said in a statement, per WSB Radio.

The Virginia Zoo also expressed its gratitude to colleagues at other zoos across the United States who came forward with their assistance. In particular, the zoo thanked the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, who supplied the plasma for the transfusion.

On the zoo’s Facebook post, people expressed their sadness over the loss of the baby giraffe and reacted with lots of sad emojis.

“[It] always hurts to lose them,” one person wrote on the post.

“So very sorry for the loss of that sweet animal,” another one commented.

“My condolences to all the great caretakers who tried so hard to save this baby giraffe! It always breaks my heart when we lose one. R.I.P. sweetpea and know that you were loved.”