A 6-year-old giraffe was struck and killed by lightning Monday at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Betsy, one of the park's 16 giraffes, had been at Animal Kingdom since 1998, when the park opened. On Monday she was wandering in the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction when a sudden storm front moved in.

"This was an unusual circumstance," said Diane Ledder, a Disney spokeswoman. Animals at the park are typically moved inside during severe weather, she said, but Monday's lightning storm came with little warning.

Ledder said the lighting struck while visitors were in the park, but she did not know if anyone witnessed it. The cause of the giraffe's death was determined by a necropsy.

It was the first animal death from lightning at the park, Ledder said.

The giraffe will likely be cremated in an incinerator on Disney's property, Ledder said, but veterinarians or a museum also may be interested in the animal for research.

Zoos have lost animals to lightning in the past, although rarely, said Michael Hutchins, director of conservation and science at the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

Hutchins, who is on the board that advises Disney's Animal Kingdom, said lightning rods were in place at the park.

"It's just like everything else. There's some risk involved with going outside your house every day," he said. "This was an unfortunate act of nature."