Baby giraffe dies at NEW Zoo

SUAMICO - After nearly 15 months of pregnancy, the NEW Zoo's female giraffe, Zuri, gave birth overnight Friday.

But born weak, the 130-pound calf died 36 hours later.

"This weekend was a real tough weekend on staff because you're going from tears of joy to tears of sorrow," said NEW Zoo Director Neil Anderson.

This was the second pregnancy for Zuri, who turns six next week. The first ended in a stillborn. And yet zoo keepers and veterinarians learn valuable information with each delivery, to better prepare for the next time.

"What we did differently this year, we monitored her progesterone levels," said NEW Zoo veterinarian Tracey Gilbert.

Gilbert says the size of a baby giraffe poses its own problems during delivery, with its long legs and neck.

"It's a much bigger challenge for these babies. They really need to be born strong in order to get up and nurse," said Gilbert.

Gilbert checked Zuri two days before delivering, and hormone levels and the baby's heartbeat appeared fine.

Unfortunately, little is known about the actual birth of the calf, since it took place overnight in the giraffe house and no one was around. Zoo officials plan to install a video camera in the house so next time they don't miss a thing.

But even with the zoo's precautions, no birth is easy.

Just this summer, a baby giraffe died after three days at the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri. And a mother and calf died during delivery at the Houston Zoo in Texas.

"Anytime an animal is pregnant and going to give birth it's no different than people. It's a miracle. It really truly is," said Anderson.

Disappointment is greeting zoo visitors who had been following Zuri's pregnancy.

"We just pretty much told her the baby giraffe was sick and went to giraffe heaven," said Laura Kornowski, a regular visitor to the zoo with her two young children.

Zuri is currently being kept away from her mate and vets plan to put her on birth control. That will give them more time to study what went wrong, so if there is a next time, they'll have a better chance of success.