As we continue providing supportive care to our oldest giraffes, Milenna and Doc, as they deal with age-related mobility issues, our veterinary team has turned to a new diagnostic tool to help guide future treatments for the pair: thermography.  

Over the last few months, we’ve shared some of the care 23-year-old Milenna and 22-year-old Doc have been receiving. Both are taking analgesic, or pain-relieving, medications. Milenna also wears “shoes” to offer her some more support.  

“We add in additional medications intermittently as needed when their lameness worsens,” said Dr. Trevor Zachariah, the Zoo’s director of veterinary programs. “The medications each treat pain differently, so that their discomfort can be mitigated through different physiologic pathways.” 

We hoped that using thermography might help us learn more about the origin of their lameness and discomfort.  

“We had some clues but wanted to try to confirm, as well as identify any additional areas that might be of concern,” Trevor said.  

Thermography uses an infrared camera to learn more about heat patterns and blood flow in body tissues. Thank you to Dr. James Bogan of Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Garden for his assistance in this – and their thermography camera! 

While we had already taken X-rays of the pair, this method is pretty limited to only the lower parts of the limbs – giraffes have some long legs! 

Through the thermography images, our veterinary team was able to confirm the area they suspected was a problem for Milenna: her right tarsal joint, or hock. For Doc, his right hip area was deemed to be the area with issues.  

These thermographic studies of Doc and Milenna give us baselines to compare if or when we decide to do another session in the future.  

“We will be able to add this to our suite of monitoring methods for the giraffes’ responses to any therapies that are used,” Trevor said.   

Our goal is to provide unparalleled care for all of the animal residents. By using state-of-the-art technology like thermography to guide our approach to animal wellbeing, we ensure we are providing care that will allow our animals to thrive.