Zoo officials: Public may have scared baby giraffe

Hillcrest Park Zoo officials believe the zoo's baby giraffe was spooked last week by someone throwing rocks at her.

Hillcrest Park Zoo staff said the zoo's 7-week-old giraffe, Jerrica, appeared spooked when they approached her in her pen Saturday for her noon feeding. Zoo officials believe rocks may have been throw at her and her mother, Jael.

Zoo Director Vince Romero said rocks were found Saturday in the pens of 7-week-old Jerrica and her mother, Jael.

Assistant Zoo Director Mark Yannotti said when staff approached Jerrica on Saturday for her noon feeding, "She was going crazy."

When staff tried to calm her she broke through a PVC pipe barrier but was uninjured, Yannotti said.

"She was so freaked out it was hard to feed her," Yannotti said. "The keepers couldn't get close to her for a while. She was running up and down. We took it slow with her, she's only (seven) weeks old."

"She wasn't hurt; she was scared," Romero said.

Yannotti said the zoo had a record attendance last week, and with so many people, it was hard to monitor the giraffe constantly.

"We let her stay in the back the rest of Saturday," Yannotti said. "She didn't show her face much Sunday. You can't really blame her."

Zoo staff were concerned that the incident could harm the bonding between Jerrica and her mother. Jael kicked the baby soon after her birth Jan. 25 at the zoo, causing zoo staff to separate the two for safety reasons. They were reunited last week.

Yannotti said zoo staff made the decision to keep Jerrica on static display, meaning she can leave the public viewing area anytime she feels threatened.

"If she wants to be seen, you'll see her," Yannotti said. "I just want people to know why we're doing what we're doing."