Another giraffe has died at the Dallas Zoo: Ferrell, a 15-year-old giraffe, died on December 31.

According to a post by the zoo, Ferrell was injured "following an unexpected fall in the barn" on December 29. The fall caused injury to the giraffe's jaw, and on December 31, the giraffe was euthanized.

This is the sixth giraffe death at the Dallas zoo in recent years.

According to the zoo, veterinary teams and a surgical consultant could not repair the injury to Ferrell's jaw, since Ferrell previously injured his jaw 13 years ago, resulting in issues with his tongue. The giraffe was unable to keep his tongue in his mouth before the new injury.

"The nature of this [new] injury meant that Ferrell would face limitations in the use of his jaw and tongue, likely requiring a partial or full amputation of his tongue in the future," making it "nearly impossible" for Ferrell to eat.

Ferrell was born at the Fort Worth Zoo, then transferred to the Dallas Zoo in 2010. The average lifespan for a giraffe is 25 years.

Part of the rationale that zoos claim as a justification for keeping wild animals imprisoned is that zoos are helping "conservation." It seems like a hollow claim given the high death toll at the Dallas Zoo.

Death count
Ferrell's death is one in a long-running series of deaths at the zoo that have accelerated in recent years, the most previous being Ajabu, a 6-year-old African elephant who died in May from the viral infection known as elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV).

Ferrell the giraffe joins this death march of animals at the Dallas Zoo:

• Ajabu, a 6-year-old African elephant who died on May 8, 2023, from the herpes virus.
• Pin, a 35-year-old lappet-faced vulture, died on January 22, 2023, cause unknown.
• Jesse, a 14-year-old giraffe, died on October 29, 2021, cause unknown.
• Auggie, a 19-year-old giraffe, died in late October 2021 of liver failure.
• Marekani, a 3-month-old baby giraffe, sustained a mysterious injury and was euthanized on October 3, 2021.
• Kirk, a 31-year-old chimpanzee, died in August 2021 due to "surprise" heart disease.
• Keeya, a 6-year-old Hartmann's mountain zebra, died in March 2021 due to a mysterious unexplained head injury.
• Subira, a 24-year-old silverback gorilla, died suddenly in March 2020, due to a cough, or maybe cardiovascular disease.
• Hope, a 23-year-old Western lowland gorilla, died suddenly in November 2019 after being at the zoo for only two years.
• Ola, an 8-year-old female African painted dog, was killed in July 2019 by two other painted dogs, less than a month after she was transferred to the zoo.
• Witten, a 1-year-old giraffe, died in June 2019 during a physical exam under anesthesia when he suddenly stopped breathing.
• Adhama, a baby hippopotamus, mysteriously died in 2018.
• Kipenzi, a baby giraffe, died in 2015 after running in her enclosure.
• Kamau, a young cheetah, died of pneumonia in 2014.
• Johari, a female lion, was killed in front of zoo spectators in 2013 by male lions with whom she shared an enclosure.

And in February 2021, they lost a crow called Onyx who was part of their "animal ambassador team," "participating in a training session" for a bird show. He was never found.