LA Zoo Giraffe Dies
Veterinarians worked for two days to remove a stillborn calf
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 | Updated 2:43 PM PDT
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A Masai giraffe that has lived at the Los Angeles Zoo since 1983 has died, likely due to complications that arose while giving birth to a stillborn calf, zoo officials said today.
The giraffe, Asali, was a year old when she arrived at the zoo from Kenya. She had given birth to 12 calves during her time at the zoo.
“The Los Angeles Zoo is saddened by the loss of Asali,” said Zoo Director John Lewis. “Over her many years here at the zoo, Asali was viewed by millions of visitors and over two generations of school children. For many who will never travel to Africa, Asali served as an ambassador to her wild cousins and provided our guests with the opportunity to marvel at the beauty and massive height of this species.”
According to zoo officials, veterinarians worked for two days to remove a stillborn calf from Asali. She died shortly after the calf was removed.
Asali was one of the last wild-caught Masai giraffes to enter the United States, zoo officials said. The 12 calves she gave birth to were sent to zoos across the country, and several have given birth or sired offspring of their own.
Bob Barnes, the zoo's registrar, said he remembered helping to transport Asali to the zoo from Los Angeles International Airport in 1983.
“We loaded her shipping crate onto a stake-bed truck and drove her up the Harbor Freeway to the zoo,” he said. “She wasn't full grown, so we could easily drive the truck underneath the overpass. The crate didn't have a top and a lot of the people on the Harbor Freeway were surprised to see a giraffe driving past them.”
