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'Farewell to Dikembe:' Denver Zoo puts down oldest living male giraffe in North America

Posted at 3:24 PM, Oct 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-04 17:27:52-04

DENVER — The oldest living male giraffe in North America was euthanized at the Denver Zoo after the 24-year-old animal was showing signs of declining health, the zoo announced Thursday.

“Today we bid farewell to Dikembe,” the Denver Zoo’s Facebook announcement began. The post said the giraffe was a longtime patriarch of the zoo’s giraffe herd.

“He will be remembered fondly as gentle, charismatic and goofy, and for the tremendous contributions he made to his vulnerable species during his exceptionally long life,” the post read.

The Denver zoo said Dikembe sired 17 offspring during his time at the zoo, including Dobby, who celebrated his first birthday in February.

According to the post, Dikembe suffered from a host of health issues over the past several years. His condition worsened recently when he began showing signs that his quality of life had declined.