SANFORD, Fla. (October 30, 2024) – We are deeply saddened to share that we have lost one of our giraffes, Rafiki, due to a chronic medical condition after a lengthy battle against illness. Rafiki celebrated his 13th birthday on October 22.
Over the last several years, our team of keepers, veterinarians, and Association of Zoo and Aquariums (AZA) experts have worked tirelessly to monitor Rafiki’s condition, providing the most up-to-date treatments and husbandry
alterations with the aim of supporting his health and wellbeing.
Unfortunately, despite those efforts, we were not able to prevent his condition from declining in recent months, and the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize Rafiki on October 30, 2024.
Rafiki helped us open our giraffe habitat in 2014, where he was joined by our Masai giraffe, Gage, and Rothschild giraffe, Emba, who died in 2018. Rafiki and Gage have been delighting visitors ever since through our giraffe feeding experience.
Our giraffes have also afforded us the chance to teach the community about giraffes, which have faced a “silent extinction” with a 40 percent decline in population over recent generations. Rafiki was an important part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), an AZA conservation program whereby participating zoos and aquariums work to maintain a genetically diverse population of an endangered or threatened species in human care that could be used to replenish populations in their native habitat if needed someday.
Rafiki touched the lives of his Keepers and our volunteers, guests and social media fans. We will miss him.
Guests are still welcome to visit and feed Gage during their time at the Zoo, but we hope you will be patient with him and with our staff as we all adjust to this loss.
