The Maryland Zoo's beloved young giraffe, Julius, has died due to health complications that plagued him since birth.
WASHINGTON — The Maryland Zoo’s beloved young giraffe, Julius, has died.
Despite care from his mother, Julius was never able to nurse effectively, according to a news release from the Maryland Zoo.
This June 28, 2017 photo provided by The Maryland Zoo shows a baby giraffe, Julius, and his mother, Kesi, at the zoo in Baltimore. The three-week-old baby giraffe had been placed in intensive care at a Maryland zoo after a sudden change in its bloodwork. The calf had been struggling since he was born June 15 at The Maryland Zoo.
(Jeffrey F. Bill/The Maryland Zoo via AP)
Jeffrey F. Bill/The Maryland Zoo via AP
This June 28, 2017 photo provided by The Maryland Zoo shows a baby giraffe, Julius, in Baltimore. The three-week-old baby giraffe had been placed in intensive care at a Maryland zoo after a sudden change in its bloodwork. The calf had been struggling since he was born June 15 at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
(Jeffrey F. Bill/The Maryland Zoo via AP)
Jeffrey F. Bill/The Maryland Zoo via AP
This June 28, 2017 photo provided by The Maryland Zoo shows a baby giraffe, Julius, at the zoo in Baltimore. The three-week-old baby giraffe had been placed in intensive care at a Maryland zoo after a sudden change in its bloodwork. The calf had been struggling since he was born June 15 at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
(Jeffrey F. Bill/The Maryland Zoo via AP)
Jeffrey F. Bill/The Maryland Zoo via AP
This June 28, 2017 photo provided by The Maryland Zoo shows a baby giraffe, Julius, and his mother, Kesi, at the zoo in Baltimore. The three-week-old baby giraffe had been placed in intensive care at a Maryland zoo after a sudden change in its bloodwork. The calf had been struggling since he was born June 15 at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
(Jeffrey F. Bill/The Maryland Zoo via AP)
Zoo staff provided Julius with supplemental nutrients and tried to teach him to bottle feed. Julius also got two transfusions of giraffe plasma from other zoos.
Samantha Sander, associate veterinarian at the zoo said in a statement that Julius received intensive tube feeding and round the clock care.
“His condition took a sharp turn downward overnight, and we had to make the difficult decision to humanely euthanize him. This is certainly not the outcome we were hoping for, but we rest assured that we did everything we possibly could medically to prevent him from any distress,” Sander said in the statement.
Julius was the first-born of his mother, Kesi.
A necropsy will be performed to find out why Julius suffered from these health issues.
Mourners can post messages about Julius on Maryland Zoo’s website.
