Coal Valley, IL - July 7, 2015 - Niabi Zoo announced today that its male giraffe calf, Genesis, was euthanized due to ongoing difficulty recovering from a leg injury. His injury occurred a few days after his birth in February when his mother, Mimi, inadvertently stepped on him and damaged a tendon in his front left leg.
Niabi Zoo's veterinary staff had been providing constant treatment to his injured leg, but after nearly five months he had shown no significant signs of recovery. The healing process continued to be complicated by his rapid growth. "At this stage of development, Genesis was growing several inches per week, which had him at nearly eight feet tall and weighing several hundred pounds," said Zoo Director Marc Heinzman. "As he continued to grow so rapidly, that meant more and more weight for his injured leg to bear which was not conducive to the healing process."
Heinzman said reparative surgery was not an option, again because of Genesis's rapid growth rate. "Surgery on his damaged tendon was not something we could consider because he was growing faster than he could heal, in addition to it being nearly impossible to keep him off of that leg after surgery to allow it to recover properly."
"We're deeply saddened at his loss," said Heinzman, "but this extremely difficult decision was made for the sake of his welfare. The level of care provided by our animal keepers and veterinary staff was nothing short of exemplary, but the decision came down to our assessment that he is not able to heal properly and was most likely experiencing significant pain as his injury continued to linger."
The calf has been sent to the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, where a veterinary pathologist will complete a full necropsy (animal autopsy).
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