(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A 24-year-old giraffe at the Lincoln Park Zoo has died.
The giraffe, named Etana, had been monitored extensively by veterinary staff for cumulative age-related issues since 2017, according to a statement from the zoo on Friday.
Etana had reached an acute change in her health and passed away quickly overnight, the zoo announced Friday.
She had arrived at the Lincoln Park Zoo from another institution in 2003 and went on to surpass the median life expectancy of female giraffes, which is about 20, the zoo said.
“Etana was a very special animal to us here at the zoo and to many zoo visitors and volunteers,” said Mike Murray, the zoo’s curator of mammals and behavioral husbandry, who called her “the leader of the giraffe herd.”
“We will remember her love for chewing browse, participating in training sessions with her dedicated keepers, and being the leader of the giraffe herd here.”
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2022. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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