Two animals born at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs were euthanized earlier this month due to age-related declines in health according to written statements from the zoo. A 22-year-old giraffe named Mahali and the oldest resident at the zoo, Roxie, a 48-year-old lowland gorilla were "humanely euthanized," as the statements said.
Mahali was the first calf born in the current giraffe facility. The staff said he was a confident creature who often pulled on keepers’ shirts or pushed other giraffes out of the way to make sure he was the center of attention.
“Mahali was a rascal in his younger years,” according to the zoo staff. “If Mahali didn’t want to move, he wasn’t moving.”
Foot and leg issues later in life inhibited his ability to get around, but several treatments helped, according to the zoo.
His care team says he allowed them to glue orthopedic shoes to his hooves and that caring for him helped them to better understand the health issues of older giraffes.
Mahali was one of the oldest male reticulated giraffes in human care.
The zoo’s loss of the giraffe came soon after Roxie, a 48-year-old female Western lowland gorilla, was also euthanized for health reasons.
Born at the zoo in 1976 she was the Zoo’s longest-living resident and one of the oldest of her species in the United States gorilla care community.
Roxie did not have any offspring, but according to the zoo staff, she was a vital part of the gorilla troop social system there.
“Roxie was the ‘cool aunt’,” who helped other gorillas fit into the troop and adored the gorilla infants and youngsters, often playing, chasing and wrestling with them. She also helped a young male “silverback” learn his place in the troop.
The zoo is honoring Roxie by offering a recycling program for small electronic devices. The zoo said natural gorilla habitats continue to decline as a result of agriculture, settlements and mining for a mineral used in electronics. Guests can bring the devices to the admissions window or to the Primate World exhibit.
