- Saba the giraffe was just three months old when she was found dead by Zoo Miami staff Saturday morning.
- An autopsy concluded that Saba, born December 15, died from a broken neck.
- Zoo officials believe something may have startled the animal and caused it to hit a fence, resulting in fatal injuries.
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A baby giraffe has died at a Florida zoo after breaking its neck in a tragic accident Friday evening.
Saba the giraffe was just three months old when she was found dead by Zoo Miami staff on Saturday morning.
“As the event that led to this trauma occurred overnight and was not personally observed, zoo officials can only speculate that something startled the animal and caused it to striking a fence, resulting in a fatal injury,” said spokesman Ron Magill.
An autopsy concluded that Saba, born on December 15 last year, had a broken neck.
“This is a devastating loss, and all procedures are being carefully evaluated to help ensure any similar incidents are prevented in the future,” Magill said Tuesday.
Saba the giraffe was just three months old when she was found dead by Zoo Miami staff Saturday morning.
An autopsy concluded that Saba, born December 15, died from a broken neck.
Zoo officials believe something may have startled the animal and caused it to hit a fence, resulting in fatal injuries.
Keepers continue to closely monitor the other giraffes in the zoo’s herd, but all have returned to their normal routine without incident, Magill added.
“At birth, the calf was just over 5 feet tall and weighed just over 120 pounds, which is actually a bit smaller for a newborn giraffe,” the zoo wrote in an Instagram post announcing the birth of Sheba.
The giraffe has a pregnancy of about 15 months and the mother rarely, if ever, lies down during childbirth. The newborn falls 4 to 6 feet to the ground, the zoo said.
The zoo has seen more than 60 baby giraffes born, including eight by Saba’s mother alone.
Zoo Miami has also provided funding through the Zoo Miami Conservation Fund to various organizations supporting the conservation of giraffes in the wild.
The giraffe’s status in the wild is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to significant reductions in its populations in recent years.
“At birth, the calf was just over 5 feet tall and weighed just over 120 pounds, which is actually a bit smaller for a newborn giraffe,” the zoo wrote in an Instagram post announcing the birth of Sheba.
The zoo has seen more than 60 baby giraffes born, including eight by Saba’s mother alone
Zoo spokesman Ron Magill called Saba’s death a “devastating loss.”
There are approximately 579 captive giraffes in 103 zoos across North America, according to a recent Born Free report.
Many of these giraffes live shorter lives than those living in the wild, who live up to 40 years at most, the report says.
A study of giraffes living in captivity in European zoos between 1962 and 2003 77 percent had died under the age of 15, according to Born Free.
In North American zoos, captive giraffes live 12.7 years less than their wild counterparts, who typically live to about 21 years old, the report added.