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A 3-week-old female giraffe at Utah's Hogle Zoo has died after struggling since birth.
Nancy Carpenter, the zoo's director of animal health, said the calf was underweight and shorter than normal when born on Dec. 28. When it did not put on enough weight naturally, zoo officials intervened with intensive medical therapy, but the calf did not respond and died Wednesday.
"In general, giraffe babies do not need any help to thrive," Carpenter said. "This baby faced challenges from birth. Despite all of our efforts, she was not able to make it."
"It's always hard to lose a baby," she added.
The calf was the third birth for Kipenzi, one of Hogle Zoo's four giraffes. Her first baby, born in 2010, also did not survive. But in 2012 she gave birth to a daughter who survived and was sent to the Maryland Zoo, said Hogle Zoo spokesman Erica Hansen.
This birth was an immediate cause of concern for zookeepers, she noted. Besides being too small, the calf's hooves and the horn nubs on its head were not mature enough. Worries elevated when she didn't gain weight even though she was nursing.
"We know that mom had milk," Carpenter said, "but it's difficult to know if it just wasn't enough milk of if the calf just wasn't able to nurse well enough to sustain itself."
At death, the calf weighed 113 pounds, quite small for a 3-week-old giraffe despite diet supplementation vitamins, IV fluids and tube feeding.
"For something so small, she has left a huge hole in our hearts and the giraffe barn," said giraffe keeper Holly Peterson.
That barn still has Kipenzi, the deceased calf's dad, Riley, a female named Pogo and her daughter, 1-year-old Willow.