Advertisement Zoo shares details on giraffe's stillbirth Zoo doctor: Calf never took a breath Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Autumn, the Greenville Zoo’s 7-year-old Masai giraffe, delivered a stillborn calf early Wednesday morning.Jeff Bullock, zoo administrator, thanked the community for the outpouring of sympathy for the staff and the for concern and sympathy for Autumn.Dr. Heather Mills, the zoo’s department of health director, said that Autumn was found to be in labor just after 3 a.m., and the calf was delivered at about 3:25 a.m. She said the calf was malpositioned -- not technically a breech position, but it was delivered hind feet first, which is not the normal delivery position for a giraffe.She said when the staff realized the calf was abnormally positioned for birth, they turned the webcam away because they were concerned about its welfare.Miller said veterinarians rarely intervene in giraffe births because in many cases it would cost the life of the mother and the calf. She said calves born in this position often survive and thrive, and the labor was fast enough that Autumn was not in danger, so intervention was not really considered. Miller said she was aware of only one successful Caesarean delivery of a giraffe that she was aware of.Miller said the calf never took a breath, and the necropsy confirmed that no air had ever entered his lungs. She said it is not known what stage of the birth the calf was in when he died, and it may never be known. She said that he had no heartbeat, and medical attempts to restart his heart never worked.Miller said the calf was the normal size at birth, and the staff had noted normal pre-birth activity on Tuesday.She said the cause of death is not yet clear. Miller said he had a few enlarged lymph nodes and some abnormalities in the placenta, but testing of cultures and samples will be tested to see if there was any infection present.Bullock said Autumn and Walter are on loan as part of a cooperative loan from the Species Survival Plan Program. The program places animals in smaller zoos that could not afford to own them so that they can be bred for conservation efforts and to maintain genetic diversity.He said Autumn and Walter will be separated for three or four weeks because they don’t want them to breed again too soon. He said the pair will likely be bred again, and though they are on loan, they will likely live out their lives in the Greenville Zoo.They said Autumn is doing well, but will remain off exhibit Wednesday so that she can be closely observed. As of Wednesday afternoon, Autumn had not passed the placenta, so that was being carefully monitored.Miller said, “I think we are very lucky Autumn is doing well. We are very disappointed in the calf, but happy Autumn is doing well.”Autumn came from the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, where she was born on Jan. 7, 2006. Walter was born on Nov. 9, 2005, and came from the San Diego Zoo. Both animals arrived in Greenville in July 2007 as part of a three-way loan agreement.According to the agreement, the first calf (Kiko) belongs to the owner of the dam, the Franklin Park Zoo. He is expected to be relocated sometime in the next year.The stillborn calf is the third zoo animal to die this yearBullock said, “Been a tough year for zoo staff. The staff was really looking forward to something positive happening. It's disappointment along with big hurt.”