A reader asks Answer Man: Didn’t there used to be giraffes at the National Zoo?
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Version 0 of 1. I have been reading an article in the Atlantic about giraffes. I seem to remember some giraffes at the National Zoo, including a baby. Is that correct? If so, what happened to them? — Terri Shaw, Washington In September 2006, the last giraffe left Washington. His name was Randle, he was a Rothschild’s giraffe, and his destination was a zoo in Tampa. Randle — sometimes spelled “Randall” — still lives at ZooTampa, where, said Sandra Torres, that zoo’s director of communications, “he is doing well and enjoying the Florida sunshine.” The sun had shone on many giraffes at the National Zoo before Randle’s departure, but the majestic animals had some stormy days, too. In May 1993, Masai giraffe Griff went into labor in the middle of a thunderstorm. This may have been no more than an interesting detail save for the fact that zoo personnel tried to usher visitors out of the Elephant House — where the giraffes lived — so Griff would not be distracted. This did not sit well with people who had taken shelter inside. Some left, but some refused to go. One disgruntled tourist told The Washington Post: “They stampeded 180 people out into a lightning storm with no cover so a birthing giraffe would not be disturbed.” The zoo insisted the weather was not dangerous. In the end, it was Griff who went outside and gave birth. The zoo named her 150-pound calf Stormy. Pregnancy is hard on any mammal, but imagine being a giraffe: You’re pregnant for 450 days, and you sleep standing up. Even so, many giraffes were born at the National Zoo. Between 1966 and 1976, 15 giraffes were born there. One — Cecilia, born in 1966 — was named after Cecilia Gabriel, secretary to the head of the Smithsonian, S. Dillon Ripley. In July 1997, a newborn African Serengeti giraffe was named Aaron, after Aaron David Goodrich, a Starbucks employee killed a month earlier at one of the coffee outlets near Georgetown. The name was in recognition of his father Lawrence’s work as a volunteer in the Elephant House. What became of all these giraffes? Some stayed at the National Zoo. Some were sent to other zoos to support breeding programs, as is common. Some did not survive into adulthood. Of four calves born in the fall of 1976, two died. Two years later, 5-day-old calf Lee died of a urinary blockage. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, giraffes were among the animals at the zoo whose care was questioned. In 1998, an 18-year-old Masai giraffe named Lionel vomited and choked to death after being anesthetized for a hoof trim. The veterinarian did not file the requisite official notes on the procedure. In 2002, giraffes Ryma and Griff died of age-related dental and digestive problems. The zoo declined to release their records to the media, citing medical privacy. As a result of these and other issues, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association in 2003 gave the zoo a one-year, provisional renewal of its accreditation, instead of the usual five-year renewal. The zoo addressed the problems and regained its full accreditation in 2004. When it came time to expand the Elephant House, the zoo decided to focus on elephants instead with its $56 million Elephant Trails complex. A Nile hippo named Happy was moved to the Milwaukee County Zoo, and Randle did what so many active retirees do: headed to Florida. Might giraffes ever return to Washington? “Our scientists are currently studying behaviors and movements of giraffes in East Africa because their populations are mysteriously on a fast decline,” Steve Monfort, head of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, said in an email. “I’d like nothing better than to tell that conservation story with giraffes at the National Zoo! We have a vision to renovate our Savannah area but it’s a ways off in our master planning.” Randle was the last giraffe at the National Zoo. But who was the first? Answer Man became fascinated with that story. It involved an arduous 1926 expedition to East Africa that nearly doubled the number of animals at the zoo. Next week: The children of Washington demand a giraffe. Do you have a question about the Washington area? Send it to answerman@washpost.com. Twitter: @johnkelly For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/john-kelly. |