San Francisco Zoo mourns death of a giraffe

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the death of Gezi, a 9-year-old mother giraffe:

A previously undiagnosed disease is the likely cause of a 9-year-old giraffe's death Tuesday at the San Francisco Zoo, officials said.

Gezi, who had given birth to a male calf in February, collapsed at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, suffering from cardiac and respiratory arrest. A necropsy is scheduled for this afternoon, and its preliminary results on what led to the animal's death will be released today, according to a statement from zoo leaders.

Giraffes typically live between 15 and 20 years in the wild and several years longer in captivity. At 9, Gezi was considered a mature, "middle-aged" animal....

In addition to Barbro, the calf born Feb. 25, Gezi gave birth to Terrance in 2006. Barbro remains at the San Francisco Zoo, while Terrance (pictured at left with his mother) was given to a facility in Illinois.

The death is sure to lead to criticism from local animal welfare activists, who for years have charged that the zoo is more interested in making money and pleasing visitors than taking care of animals.

Photo: Paul Sakuma / Associated Press