PETA Calls Giraffe's Cold Weather Death 'Unconscionable'

By Jeffrey Smith, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- The Tulsa Zoo's nine-year-old female giraffe, Amira, is dead. The female giraffe died Sunday morning at the Tulsa Zoo after getting sick from the bitter cold.

On Thanksgiving weekend, there were three giraffes at the Tulsa Zoo. Now, only one giraffe is alive.

The Tulsa Zoo allowed News On 6 cameras inside the barn where Amira had been living for weeks, trying to survive the cold spell.

The Tulsa Zoo's male giraffe, Samburu, used to share his enclosure with nine-year-old Amira.

Amira began acting lethargic Saturday morning and had a low body temperature. Zoo staff brought in extra bedding and portable heaters, but she died Sunday morning.

01/11/2010 Related Story: Tulsa Zoo: Cold Weather A Suspected Factor In Death Of Second Giraffe 

The News On 6 asked, "Is there a chance she was in distress before that, and no one noticed it?"

"Well, she was not acting abnormally at all until Saturday morning and they, we base it on in what the keeper's experience, and what the animals normally do, and their attitude, and she showed no signs of distress until Saturday morning," said Dr Kay Backues, Zoo Veterinarian.

Amira arrived from the Santa Barbara Zoo in early October. Zoo Director Terrie Correll said that the weather was not a concern at the time.

"October is still a month that has good weather for us, and that was an available time for the animal to arrive from the other institution, and our barn is heated, and so at that time, at that time, at that time we weren't concerned about this," Correll said.

24 days in December had freezing temps, and every day up until the giraffe's death in January.

The last two days of Amira's life, the low temperatures were six degrees and three degrees.

"Our barn has been sufficiently heated in the past, including in the very cold weather, and not having a problem. We've never had a problem like this before," Backues said.

Amali the giraffe died in early December, two weeks after breaking her neck during transport from an Ohio preserve.

PETA says a cold-weather death is especially shocking.

"First of all, it's unbelievable and unconscionable that any animal at the Tulsa, the Tulsa Zoo should die of hypothermia," said Lisa Wathne, PETA Captive Animals Specialist.

"I feel like we did everything we could to try to save her," Backues said.

Now the focus is on making sure Samburu gets through this harsh Oklahoma winter. Zookeepers are monitoring Samburu's body temperature around the clock.