'Heshi,' Beloved Giraffe At Denver Zoo, Passes Away
By Anna Maria Basquez
DENVER (CBS4) – In the first summer of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020, when one of the few places to venture that was open was the Denver Zoo, the giraffe Heshimu could often be seen reaching toward a fellow giraffe. Their necks forming majestic triangular shapes in the sunset for visitors.
This weekend Denver Zoo staff and wildlife aficionados mourn the loss of Heshimu, a long-time Denver Zoo reticulated giraffe, 19.
"Heshimu was found this morning immobile in her indoor habitat,"the Denver Zoo staff tweeted on Friday. "After consulting keepers and veterinary staff, we determined Heshi's condition was unrecoverable, and she was humanely euthanized in the presence of her care team."
Affectionately called "Heshi" by her zookeepers, she was born Sept. 12, 2002 at San Diego Zoo Safari Park and was moved to Denver on May 9, 2007.
"For the last 14 years, Heshi inspired countless guests and helped connect them to her wild counterparts," the zoo tweets read. Many visitors asked how her counterpart giraffes there are doing, including Kipele, a 28-year-old giraffe and her son Dobby, who zoo officials stated were being watched closely.
The zoo's spokesman the zoo and zookeepers are grateful for the outpouring of community sentiment.
"We heard a lot especially on social media," said Jake Kubié, spokesman. "It's just an outpouring of love and support and sympathy. Visitors know how much we love our animals. Animals like Heshi are very high profile, very visible. Our guests and members have a connection with these animals as much as we do I presume."
The Denver Zoo houses 3,000 animals.
"Each of them are unique and important in their own way," Kubié said. "Certainly, the guests gravitate toward the big charismatic mammals like the giraffe. They become really engrained in our hearts and minds and people have a connection to those guys."
The veterinary medicine team started a necropsy to find out more about what led to the giraffe's sudden decline. Those results will be available in the coming week, Kubié said.
