SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Salt Lake City’s Hogle Zoo says a 17-year-old giraffe named Pogo has died, and her unborn calf was too small to survive.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports Pogo started showing symptoms that she was sick on Sunday afternoon and died Monday. Zoo officials said in a Facebook post that her male calf was in “perfect condition” but only weighed 48 pounds (22 kilograms).
A necropsy found Pogo’s intestines were abnormal, and additional testing to determine exactly why she died and why it happened so fast is expected to take weeks.
Zoo spokeswoman Erica Hansen says Pogo made headlines in September 2018 when she gave birth to Georgetta, who was 150 pounds (68 kilograms) and more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall.
The zoo’s website says the average lifespan of giraffes is 15 years.
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