CMZoo remembers beloved giraffe Khalid after his passing at age 17

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) reflects on the life of 17-year-old breeding male giraffe Khalid after his euthanization on Dec. 12.

CMZoo says Khalid's care team had been helping him through mobility issues, but his health began rapidly declining over the past week. The zoo says that after exhausting all possible treatments, they decided to say goodbye.

“He was the best boy today, as always, and he will be deeply missed,” Diana Miller, giraffe specialist at CMZoo’s International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe, says. “He got lots of head scratches, bananas and browse. He nuzzled some of the giraffe and then he came over to train for the most beautiful voluntary hand injection, then shifted into spaces where we could give him his final care. He had a good last day and that’s all we could hope for. His legacy will live on in all of the things we learned from him.”

According to the Zoo, Khalid would have been 18 years old in May, and the median life expectancy for a male giraffe in human care is roughly 16 years.

CMZoo says Khalid was also known as "Big Daddy" and weighed 2,500 pounds, standing at 16-and-a-half feet tall. He was the Zoo’s only breeding bull since he arrived in June 2010 and fathered seven calves, two of whom still live at CMZoo.

“He was a gentle giant,” Kacie Meffley, giraffe animal care manager at CMZoo, says. “He had this huge imposing head and body paired with a surprisingly gentle demeanor. Many people will remember him leaning over the fence into the nursery stall when his babies were born, so he could delicately smell them and lick their heads. He was also gentle with guests, who would save lettuce especially for Khalid when feeding our herd.”

CMZoo says veterinarians will perform a necropsy, and Khalid's hooves will become part of a study on giraffe hoof anatomy. 

The zoo says they also plan on bringing in another breeding bull to the Zoo as soon as possible to continue growing the population of giraffes in human care.

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