Reid Park Zoo Reveals What Killed Elinor The Giraffe On Labor Day

TUCSON – While community members and Reid Park Zoo staffers have been mourning the Labor Day death of Elinor, the zoo’s 20-year-old reticulated giraffe, workers at the U of A Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have been hard at work performing Elinor’s “necropsy” or animal autopsy. The diagnosis: lymphoma.

“Her symptoms and progression of disease were rapid. Although a common form of cancer in people and many animals, lymphoma is extremely rare in giraffes and not much is known about successful treatment,” Chief Veteranarian Dr. Alexis Roth reported.

Elinor resided at the zoo alongside female Denver, the U.S.’s second oldest giraffe at 30 years old, and 8-year-old male giraffe Jasiri, who is known for his height. Shy Elinor often followed bold-natured Denver, and Jasiri and Denver were permitted to see Elinor after her death. The two remaining giraffes have stuck much closer together than is typical, since Elinor’s passing, zoo officials said.

“We have been so grateful for the outpouring of love, support and fond memories in the wake of Elinor’s death. It’s apparent how much she has meant to our community, and what an impactful ambassador for her species Elinor was,” wrote Reid Park Zoo President and CEO Nancy Kluge.

Elinor was born on May 29, 1999 at the Knoxville Zoological Gardens and moved to the Reid Park Zoo at age 11, in 2010. Distinguishable by her coat’s spots-within-spots, Elinor started showing respiratory distress symptoms the day before her passing. Immediately after symptoms were first observed, medical treatment had begun.

Giraffes like Elinor have an expected lifespan of 19 years. Less than 70,000 giraffes live in the wild, putting them on the vulnerable species list.