Dallas Zoo's Renowned Giraffe Kipenzi Dies

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The Dallas Zoo said its world-famous baby giraffe, Kipenzi, has died after running into the perimeter edge of her habitat Tuesday. Preliminary results indicate three broken vertebrae in her neck, and that she died immediately.

Kipenzi's birth in April on Animal Planet Live captured the hearts of people worldwide.

"This is a huge loss for our giraffe herd, our staff and our guests," said Gregg Hudson, president and CEO of the Dallas Zoo. "To be honest, it hurts terribly. We're crushed, and everyone here is mourning. Please keep our staff in your thoughts."

Keepers were routinely shifting the giraffe herd into their night barn just after 5:30 p.m. when the gangly calf began to scamper about the feeding yard, as she has done since her public debut on May 1. She made a sharp turn and ran into the perimeter edge of the habitat.

"Running is a typical behavior for giraffes of all ages, especially young ones like Kipenzi," said Harrison Edell, the zoo's senior director of living collections. "We've been very cautious with where we've allowed Kipenzi to roam, as we were with her siblings Kopano and Jamie when they were small. It's heartbreaking that this happened where it did despite our precautions."

Her mother, Katie, visited Kipenzi before veterinarians and keepers removed her.

Kipenzi's birth on Animal Planet drew 1.4 million viewers on April 11, and the live birth saw more than 2 million streams on APL.tv.

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