Milenna now has some extra support for her front legs.

We’ve gone shoe shopping for our 22-year-old Masai giraffe matriarch, Milenna! As Milenna has gotten older, she’s started to display some mobility issues and signs of pain in her legs. It’s now common for her to stay inside the barn and rest rather than heading out on the veldt during the day with the rest of the tower.  

While she has been on a couple of different pain medications, recent radiographs revealed some impactful changes in her legs, said Director of Animal Programs, Lauren Hinson.  

“At this point, her radiographs show some severe changes in her bones, and it’s possible bone fragments can break off and cause swelling and discomfort,” said Lauren. “We have seen one of her lower legs swell.” 

To help her with this discomfort, her animal care team has opted to work with the Zoo Hoofstock Trim Program (ZHTP) to get Milenna custom shoes. This team has trained our staff on hoof trimming a variety of our hoofstock and worked with us on specific cases.   

“The goal is to get the shoes on and Milenna weaned off the medications since long-term use is an issue in giraffe,” noted Lauren.  

These handmade rubber polyethylene shoes are designed to alleviate pressure on Milenna’s hooves and give her more support overall. We worked with ZHTP farrier Steve Foxworth who traced both of Milenna’s hooves and built the shoes. He then met Milenna in the giraffe barn’s transfer area so he could trim and sand her hooves and adhere the shoe.  

Milenna’s animal care team has worked extra hard for months to ensure that this process could be done voluntarily by Milenna. They made sure she was comfortable around certain tools that would be used during the process and practiced getting her feet trimmed so nothing would seem out of the ordinary on the day of. Most of our giraffe tower is trained to do voluntary hoof trims, but it was an extra step to prepare Milenna for this semi-permeant change.   

This is an important step in ensuring that Millenna is as comfortable as possible in her geriatric years. We will keep you updated on how she is feeling with her brand-new shoes! 

Special thanks to Flammio Financial Group, Stifel-Garvin Wealth Management Group, Artemis IT, and Jim and Darleen Barfield. Their generosity makes our work possible! 

Brevard Zoo is an independent, not-for-profit organization that receives no recurring government funding for our operating costs. Your generous support enables us to continue to serve our community and continue our vital animal wellness, education and conservation programs.