Zoo Giraffe Dies in Freak Accident

If it seems like giraffes are almost never in the news for a good reason, well, chuck this story on that pile: Zoo Atlanta announced Tuesday that one of its male reticulated giraffes, 8-year-old Zuberi, died in a freak accident. "(Zoo staff) saw some unusual movement in Zuberi's area and saw that he had a portion of his neck in a very small space in the metal railing," Dr. Jennifer Mickelberg tells WSBTV. Zoo officials rushed to help the animal, notes 11Alive, but Zuberi could not be saved. A necropsy will determine an official cause of death, but zoo officials say Zuberi appeared completely normal in the moments leading up to the accident. "It's an area he's really comfortable in. Really, this is just a highly unusual incident," Mickelberg says.

Zuberi's herd, adult males Abu, 12, Etana, 6, and Isooba, 6, "are behaving normally following the loss of their herd member and do not have access to the area where the incident occurred," the zoo's statement said. (OK, it's not all bad giraffe news all the time.)