Jabari the Giraffe (c. 2014-2025)
Obituary
Jabari died as a result of a tragic fall in his enclosure in January.
Jabari, a ten-year-old Masai giraffe, died at the Racine Zoo in Wisconsin after falling in his enclosure. He was frightened and bolted because a second giraffe in the enclosure was about to undergo a procedure. Fatal falls and accidents are common in giraffes held in zoos. Many captive giraffes in the US have died from neck injuries.
A life in captivity is markedly different from the freedom and family that a giraffe experiences in the wild. In the wild, giraffes live in large social groups; some spend their entire lives with relatives. Zoos break important social bonds between giraffes by repeatedly transferring and selling animals between facilities.
Giraffes in zoos are held in enclosures and cages that are a tiny fraction of their natural habitat. Giraffes in the wild spend up to 1/3 of their day walking over large areas. At his death, Jabari was being held in a “winter holding area.” Masai giraffes live in southern Kenya and Tanzania's warm savannas and grasslands. They can’t survive the harsh winters in the US, so they’re moved to barns even smaller than their summer enclosures.
Giraffe populations are declining globally. The US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing several subspecies of giraffes as endangered, and others as threatened in 2024. The Masai giraffe population has dropped nearly 60% over the last fifty years. Major threats to giraffes include habitat degradation and loss, climate change, and poaching.
World Animal Protection urges everyone who giraffes to enjoy them in the wild or at accredited sanctuaries.
