Phoenix Zoo's Much Loved 14-Year-Old Giraffe Passes Away

Makope, a 14-year-old giraffe at the Phoenix Zoo, died Thursday according to zoo officials. The zoo officials posted a message on their Facebook page saying that Makope had passed away.

“It is with deep sadness that we inform everyone that Makope, one of our reticulated giraffe, passed away Thursday," the post said.

Makope, which means ‘eyelashes’ in Swahili, was the most mischievous and outgoing giraffe at the zoo. She was born in the Savanna exhibit 14.5 years ago.

Makope was a favourite among the tourists who came to visit the exhibit. According to the zoo, she was inquisitive about her surroundings and had a penchant for reaching out to the trees just outside the exhibit to munch on.

She was also a reliable and steady influence on the giraffe herd in the zoo.

Makope was under medical treatment and was being closely cared for by vets and other staff due to her difficulty in navigating her surroundings.

Though her condition seemed to improve steadily, the zoo said that it declined over the past couple of days.

"She unexpectedly started to decline a couple of days ago and was being closely cared for by veterinary, curator, and keeper staff. On Thursday, she developed sudden neurologic abnormalities and shortly thereafter passed away on her own," the Zoo said in their Facebook post.

Her body will be sent to the Midwestern University for a full necropsy and a report for the cause of her death is expected in a few weeks.

The zoo team wrote that Makope was born on exhibit like a superstar and burned bright her whole life. She has a half-sister named Zuri at the zoo.