COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- A giraffe at the Cheyenee Mountain Zoo was euthanized after suffering from a fall early Friday afternoon. Officals say Uhara, a 20-year-old female giraffe, was bumped by another, causing her to lose her footing and fall down into a pit inside the exhibit.
Staff made the decision to euthanize Uhara after she was unable to stand on her own. It took the staff hours to even get her to a standing position.
“As her condition declined and it was clear that she could not stand without assistance, we only had one viable option. It is of utmost importance at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to value quality of life and know when decisions like these need to be made,” Zoo Veterinarian Liza Dadone said.
A necropsy will be performed to determine the extent of her injuries.
“It’s hard to lose old friends,” Tracy Thessing, Director of Animal Collections, said.
Thessing has worked with Uhura since the giraffe’s birth.
“We are grateful for the extraordinary assistance from Broadmoor Fire Department, Station 13 and Station 4; Heavy Rescue - Station 17 and the District 2 Chief. They were an integral part of a tremendous effort tonight," Tracey Gazibara, Vice President of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, said.
Uhura had 10 offspring from 1995-2009; 7 females, 3 males. Five of the females still live at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo while the others reside at various AZA accredited Zoos throughout the country.
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Update:
A rescue is still underway for a giraffe at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo who fell down into a pit inside the exhibit Friday afternoon.
Heavy rescue was called in to help in what officials call a slow process and what zoo visitors call a scary one.
Stephanie Hoyes and her family had one last stop before their day at the zoo ended.
"We were up here on top, on the platform feeding the giraffes, and this one that we were feeding repeatedly was really kind and sweet and this other, big, tall one came up and didn't eat anything but jumped on top of the smaller one," Hoyes said.
Zoo officials said the smaller one, a 20-year-old female, lost her footing and fell down inside a pit.
"It's a big, big, big, ditch with a bunch of boulders, and so he went down and thrashed for a few seconds and then just laid there," Hoyes said.
Zoo officials called Broadmoor Fire and Rescue, who in turn called in heavy rescue.
"At 1,500 pounds, it's a very slow process. It's not very easy to get an animal of that size up, so it could take awhile," Katie Borremans, PR Manager at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, said.
The zoo also asked everyone to leave and stopped allowing new guests in.
"We needed to keep the area clear, to get the trucks in and out and the police in and out, staff members in and out," Borremans said.
Not everyone was happy about that decision.
"Well to me it's disappointing because now I'm gonna get upset, you think he might be, it's just disappointing because you don't know if he's ok," Hoyes said.
While zoo officials said keeping customers happy is important, their animals' safety is their top priority.
"Our main concern is the giraffe and inspecting her out and getting her up, and we're hoping that she is ok," Borremans said.
Zoo officials said after several hours they were able to move her off the side of the pit and onto flat ground where the vet staff is examining her.
They say there still isn't any word on if or how badly she is hurt, but they add that she was sitting up and even took a cracker.
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Orignal Story:
The Colorado Springs Fire Department is working on rescuing a giraffe that fell into a pit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
Officials said the 20-year-old female giraffe was bumped by another giraffe and fell down into a pit below the exhibit. The vet staff is examining her and is not sure if she is hurt. Officials said it could be all night before the 1,500 pound animal is rescued.
Crews closed the zoo for the night as they continue to monitor what they call a 'slow process.'
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