We are heartbroken to share that the compassionate and difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize Milenna the Masai giraffe following years of careful management of her ongoing age-related mobility issues. Milenna was a matriarch of our giraffe tower, and her legacy lives on in her sons currently at our Zoo – Sprinkle and Greg – and as well as her children and grandchildren living in zoos throughout the country.  

This photo is of Milenna and her then-newborn son Greg in March 2016.

“Milenna was such an amazing matriarch for our herd,” said Africa Keeper Morgan Thums. “She will be extremely missed.” 

According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) survival statistics, the median lifespan of giraffes is 20.3 for females, meaning that at 23, Milenna was considered geriatric. Age alone isn’t a disease, but our animal care and veterinary teams had worked hard over the years to keep Milenna comfortable through ongoing mobility issues.   

All our giraffes have the option to participate in their own healthcare, namely through voluntary blood draws as well as the regular maintenance of their feet through hoof trims. In addition to this preventative healthcare, Milenna’s healthcare team monitored her carefully to give her the right amount of pain medication as needed. We’re always looking for innovative ways to support all our animals. For Milenna over the years, this meant giving her “shoes” for more support and using thermography to learn more about where her mobility issues might originate. 

This week, Milenna started experiencing more significant mobility issues that weren’t alleviated by these methods. To prevent future suffering, euthanasia was the compassionate and emotionally difficult final decision made for her. 

We take our responsibility of ensuring our animal residents thrive throughout their lives with us seriously. We are committed to seeing them through any health issues – and to understand when all reasonable efforts and options have been exhausted on their behalf.  

It was an honor to see Milenna into her golden years. Saying goodbye is always difficult, but we did so with Milenna knowing we did our best by her. There’s comfort in knowing how cherished she was by our Zoo staff and volunteers as well as the community.  

Some of Senior Africa Keeper Cindy Watson’s favorite memories of Milenna were training her for rear hooftrims – Milenna was always ready to train – and to “gobble up” some snacks! 

“I will miss her terribly everyday but thankful she had such a great long life,” Cindy said.  

Milenna will also be remembered for her large personality and her spunk, keeper Morgan said.  

“She loved her snacks but also was not afraid to tell you she was done or no longer wanted you close with a gentle head butt with her ossicones,” Morgan said. “She stayed sassy all the way up to the end.” 

Milenna was highly motivated to participate in her own healthcare, especially recently when it came to put “shoes” on her.  

“She was always ready to come into the training space and would lift her foot up even before we were ready,” Morgan said. “She allowed us to do this multiple times, and I believe this really helped her to live longer with the care we were able to provide her.”