Zoo: Giraffe Calf Penny Doing Better But 'Still Not 100 Percent Healthy'
/ CBS Colorado
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) -- Officials at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo said Wednesday that Penny the giraffe calf is doing better but is still not "100 percent healthy."
"Since then, the Zoo's animal care and veterinary teams have been partnering to provide the best possible decisions for the calf's well-being," the zoo website states.
Penny gained seven pounds between Friday and Monday, and is now up to 154 pounds, officials said on Facebook on Tuesday.
"She's been doing great on bottles," Jason, an animal care manager at the zoo, said Tuesday. She's up to two liters per feeding, about every four hours -- consuming over 200 ounces of milk in about 24 hours.
The veterinary staff is still monitoring her 24 hours a day.
On Wednesday, staff said blood work done a few days ago showed signs of improvement.
POST-VIDEO RECAP:
Thank you for all of your messages of support and interest in Penny. We appreciate all of your questions, but unfortunately, the volume has become more than we can individually answer. In an effort to keep the information flowing, we plan to try to recap videos when we can. Please also check past updates and #200Tuesdays videos for more answers to your questions. Our Facebook page is filled with giraffe facts and info!
Here are links that were referenced in the video:
Donations to Penny's Care Fund: cmzoo.org/helppenny
World Giraffe Day profile picture: facebook.com/giraffeconservationfoundation, or click on your profile photo, choose "Add Frame" and search for "giraffe"
World Giraffe Day/Giraffe Conservation Foundation t-shirt sales: giraffeconservation.org/world-giraffe-day
CMZoo World Giraffe Day Celebration: cmzoo.org/wgd
PENNY:
At just 9 days old, Penny was found splayed the morning of Wednesday, June 13. Before that, she was acting just like a regular calf. The vet staff and animal care team have attempted to put Penny and her mom, Muziki, together several times, but each time has resulted in a splay. Because of this, we have decided to keep them separated for now. This doesn't mean she's never going back with Mom. We just want to wait until Penny's actions indicate she is ready for that next step.
In general, Penny's doing much better! There is a staff member with her 24/7, and her blood work shows improvement. She is also getting better at standing up on her own, but she still rocks back and forth when standing. The swaying indicates she's not 100% yet. Her right back hip pops out to the side a little bit, but it's still in its socket. She is working on gaining more control of those back leg muscles.
We are trying to balance her healthcare with the development of her relationships with the keepers. If the only time she's with us is to get her weight measured, blood drawn, or be given shots, she wouldn't be our biggest fan. Because of this, we don't always have the most updated information on things like height and weight. She was weighed on Monday, and we found out she gained 7 pounds over the weekend, which is excellent! We're hoping to weigh her again on Friday. Currently, she's drinking about 2 liters of whole cow's milk every 4 to 6 hours.
Last night (6/19/18), Penny had a few good attempts at getting up and down on her own, but she did struggle one time. Her success rate is anywhere between 60-80%. Because of this, we can't have her with other giraffe. Until vet staff and the animal care team see her get up and down 100% of the time, she won't be back with mom.
We have discussed putting Penny with a surrogate mom, Tamu, who is our 32-year old female. She's been very gentle and maternal with Penny in the past, so she's on the top of our list. We're still a few days from this though, so Penny will just be resting until then. Tamu was in the stall across from Penny last night (6/19/18), and they get along pretty well.
Penny's got her own stall with sand and toys. She gets bursts of energy which indicate improvement. She's still being kept off exhibit, but eventually we want her out there with Mom and the rest of the herd. We're still not sure when Penny will be on exhibit. While she is doing better, she's still not a healthy calf. In order to put her in an environment where guests can see her, we'd have to put her in a different type of footing than sand, and we're not comfortable doing that just yet. When she looks good and we're all comfortable with it, we will put her in an area people can see her.
MUZIKI:
Muziki is doing well. She has been surrounded by her best friends, Azmera, Amani and Lakeisha. She has been eager to work and train, even agreeing to have her hoof trimmed yesterday! We were able to get a small amount of milk from her (which helped Penny learn to bottle-feed), target her over and hold her still.
Muziki is a great mom; she's just a little too protective for Penny right now. Their legs get intertwined, and Penny usually ends up splaying.
LAIKIPIA:
Laikipia is still pregnant. You can watch her on the birth cam (cmzoo.org/birthcam). For the most part, she's acting like any other giraffe, but is kept separate at night. We were able to do some blood draw training with her today. She's had 6 blood draws overall that have confirmed pregnancy. Right now, we're hoping Laikipia will decide she's ready for another blood draw so we can get another update soon.
WGD:
The longest day of the year, June 21, is set aside to honor the longest necks! World Giraffe Day is happening tomorrow at CMZoo and other zoos across the country. Our festivities will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. MDT. We hope to see you there!
***ORIGINAL POST***
6/20/18 Penny Update: We're checking in with our favorite new calf. See how she's doing today!
They've attempted to put her back with her mother, Mizuki, a few times but she ended up splayed each time so, for now, she remains in a stall by herself.
"Before we put her back with mom we have to make sure she's 100 percent stable," officials said Wednesday. "She is still struggling a little bit."
Officials say Mizuki is very protective and tends to stand over Penny, which frequently leads to their legs getting intertwined and Penny falling.
They are considering putting her with a "surrogate mom" who might be a little more gentle. Officials say they would most likely start with a gentle 32-year-old female named Tamu.
"The first time we put Penny with Tamu, Tamu started grooming her, walking around with her gently, moved really slow," officials said.
That might be the first step toward reuniting Penny with the herd but officials said that's a few days away, at least.
"As far as getting up and laying down on her own, I'd say about 60-80 percent of the time she does pretty well... but there are times we have to assist her," officials said Wednesday.
Keepers called that a "huge, huge thing."
"Honestly, she's doing way better than we all thought. When we saw her Wednesday morning, our hearts were a little broken. So to see her up and walking, in and of itself, to us, it's a miracle," said Amy, another animal keeper.
At the end of Wednesday's Facebook Live update, Penny got up and stood on her own.
(credit: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo)
If you would like to make a donation to help the zoo pay for Penny's medical care, click here. Any donation will go to support her care.
