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Possui uma área de 16 hectares e é administrado by private non-profit company with financial aid from foundation.
The Santa Barbara Zoo is located on 30 acres near the ocean in Santa Barbara, California. It was formerly known as the Child’s Estate Zoo. The zoo has been ranked numerous times as one of the nation’s best small zoos. It has 600 animals in numerous exhibits, including capybara and red pandas, and is famous for having had a giraffe with a crooked neck.
You may have noticed that one of the giraffes at the Zoo (in the photo above) has a crooked neck. This giraffe was born at the San Diego Wild Animal Park in July 1986. She arrived at the Santa Barbara Zoo in good health in July 1987.
As she matured, her neck developed a small kink, which has increased gradually over the last ten years. This particular giraffe has reproduced at the Zoo and has not shown any signs of pain.
We suspect that this kink has formed from an unstable joint in her neck. The unstable joint is most likely due to a benign bony growth near the joint surface. As this mass grows, it will slowly displace the two bones, producing the angle. She functions normally and continually monitored for any signs of pain or changes in her general health.
Neste zoo existem girafas da subespécie rothschildi ou baringo: Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi!
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Gemina Giraffe (16/07/1986 – 09/01/2008)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gemina the giraffe, with a normal giraffe shown for comparison Gemina (pronounced Jeh-MEE-nah) was a 12-foot-tall Baringo giraffe who lived in the Santa Barbara Zoo in Santa Barbara, California.
She became notable for the peculiar deformity in her neck, which was bent by almost ninety degrees between her C3 and C4 vertebrae. The deformity was not present when she was born, in the San Diego Wild Animal Park, but first became noticeable when she was three years old.
Gemina was born on July 16, 1986, at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. She showed no signs of a neck deformity at birth and was moved to the Santa Barbara Zoo when she was approximately one year old.
Gemina’s deformity did not appear until she was three years old. Her neck vertebrae began to jut out from her neck at this age. Eventually her neck became bent sharply. The last time that this type of a deformity had been documented in a giraffe was 1902. X-rays of Gemina’s neck showed that her vertebrae had fused together, but scientists, zoologists and veterinarians could find no explanation for the deformity. Gemina was seen tumbling end over end when she was two years old. However, tests found no sign of injury at the time, and there is no evidence that the accident caused the neck deformity. Gemina gave birth to a calf in 1991. Unfortunately, her calf died of pneumonia soon after birth.
Gemina lived an almost-normal life for a zoo giraffe, except that she had to be fed separately; her keepers noted that her tongue was shorter than those of the other giraffes, and she did not have peripheral vision to the same extent that normal giraffes do. The zoo cited her as an inspiration for disabled children, and she was featured on an episode of Miracle Workers, an ABC reality show, as an inspiration for a child with scoliosis. She was sung to by children on her 21st birthday celebration in July 2007.
Despite her rare neck deformity, Gemina reached old age for a giraffe. She outlived the average giraffe by almost six years.
In December 2007 and January 2008, Gemina stopped eating and her health began to deteriorate due to old age. She was reluctantly euthanized by her keepers at the Santa Barbara Zoo on January 9, 2008.
Picture of the giraffe at the Santa Barbara Zoological Gardens: Gemina and another giraffe.
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Gemina, the “crooked-necked giraffe”, was one of the most popular animals at the Santa Barbara Zoo. A Baringo giraffe, she was born with a straight neck at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. At the age of three she developed a bend in her neck. The zoo's veterinarian said that despite her deformity, “Gemina led a very typical existence and was treated as a normal member of the herd. She did not appear to be in discomfort and exhibited normal giraffe behaviors.”
– Gemina was euthanized at the age of 21 years. “Consistent with the challenges of old age”, she had lost her appetite and experienced a decline in quality of life. While the results of a necropsy will not be available until three weeks after her death, her deformity was not believed to be a cause of the condition that led to the decision to euthanize her.
– Gemina was featured in an episode of the television program Miracle Workers, in which she was credited with inspiring a child with scoliosis.
– The Santa Barbara Zoo was featured in an episode of Behind the Bash in March of 2006, when Giada de Laurentiis visited a catered wedding taking place at the zoo.
– Gemina was mentioned in the show Alias (TV series): Sydney (Jennifer Garner) says “Yeah, I love it [Santa Barbara]. The zoo, that giraffe with the crooked neck”.
Endereço: 500 Ninos Drive
Santa Barbara – CA 93103-3798 – USA
sbzoo@rain.org – www.santabarbarazoo.org
www.santabarbarazoo.org – www.sbzoo.org/videos.asp (Video of Gemina)
www.santabarbarazoo.org/media/pr_gemina_crooked_neck_giraffe_dies.pdf
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Última atualização: 16/05/2011. |
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