Lowry Park Zoo Giraffe Dies On Loan To Panhandle Exhibit

A 13-year-old male giraffe on loan from Lowry Park Zoo to a park in the Panhandle died over the weekend after experiencing respiratory problems and severe vomiting, officials said.

Danyelle Lantz, executive director of The Zoo of Northwest Florida in Gulf Breeze, said Tuesday morning that Colby seemed fine Sunday afternoon, but problems quickly arose, ending with the giraffe choking to death on his vomit.

A necropsy revealed Colby had bouts with pneumonia long before he came to Northwest Florida and that may have contributed to his death, Lantz said.

Colby also had arthritis, she said, which might have played a role.

Colby was on loan from Lowry Park Zoo for breeding purposes, Lantz said. He came to the zoo in May to breed with 7-year-old Gabby, the zoo's only other giraffe. The breeding never happened.

"We were still going through an introductory period," she said.

Lowry Park Zoo handlers told the Panhandle zoo that Colby had arthritis and to keep an eye on him when the temperature dropped. When the weather turned cold in November, Colby had problems, prompting caretakers to remodel his pen to make it easier to get in and out.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, workers heard a commotion in Colby's pen. They found the giraffe on his side, thrashing and trying to stand up, but unable to do so, probably because of the arthritis, Lantz said.

Veterinarians were called in immediately but the giraffe soon began vomiting.

"He was pretty old for a giraffe," Lantz said. "It's not uncommon for them to get sick. It's really unfortunate."

Larry Killmar, director of animal collections with the Lowry Park Zoo, said it was sad to hear about Colby, who came to the Tampa zoo from the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne five years ago.

At the time, the local zoo was trying to build up its Africa exhibit, he said. Colby was lent for breeding purposes in May and wasn't expected to come back to Tampa, although any offspring he spawned might be shared.

The Tampa zoo has six giraffes, all males, he said.

Colby, Killmar said, probably had another eight or nine years of life left. His arthritis was not severe, he said, and the animal never displayed any symptoms of pneumonia while here.

Unless there are outward sighs, like coughing or lethargy, it's difficult to diagnose such ailments in these large animals.

"You can't do a chest X-ray," Killmar said.