Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Jael, right, and Jerrica were among Hillcrest Park Zoo's most popular attractions for a decade.
Clovis' Rothschild's giraffe, Jael, died of a heart attack, city officials said Monday after reviewing a necropsy performed the morning of the zoo animal's death.
The clinical diagnosis states Jael died of an open acute vascular event. Dr. Michael Garner, a veterinarian with Northwest ZooPath, which specializes in pathology of non-domestic species, prepared the report for the Hillcrest Park Zoo.
"She had an age-related heart attack," said Stephanie Chavez, the Clovis zoo's interim director.
Chavez said Jael had not appeared sick prior to her death, which occurred overnight Nov. 11 when zookeepers were not present.
"She had been eating well, doing her training with the keepers. She actually enjoyed her training," Chavez said.
Zoo workers had most recently been teaching Jael to back up, which Chavez said made it easier for keepers to care for her.
Chavez said Rothschild's giraffes, named for zoologist Lord Walter Rothschild, usually live 20 to 25 years in captivity. Jael was 22.
Jael was 16 months old when she arrived at Hillcrest Park Zoo from White's Animal Kingdom in Carlsbad in November 2002, according to newspaper archives.
She and her daughter, Jerrica, born Jan. 25, 2012, were among the zoo's more popular attractions.
Chavez said Jerrica has been doing well since her mother's passing.
"She's a lot more spoiled than usual," Chavez said Monday, and she continues to eat well and act "normal."
Jael and Jerrica were the zoo's only giraffes – Jerrica's father Jay died when he slipped on ice on Feb. 3, 2011, nearly a year before Jerrica was born. A giraffe's gestation period is about 15 months.
Chavez said she will likely begin a search for a companion giraffe for Jerrica, "but I definitely want to do some upgrades on her barn and enclosure first. We need to do some renovations before getting a male in."
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