FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A giraffe was euthanized Monday after his broken foot did not heal successfully and only got worse, Zoo Miami said.
Pongo, an 11-year-old male, had received laser therapy and custom shoes after suffering the fracture last year.
These treatments seemed at first to ease his pain and he began walking normally again, but a few weeks later his shoes fell off and he reinjured his foot, the zoo said.
As a last resort, the animal was immobilized again Monday, a risky procedure, so that veterinarians could get detailed new X-rays.
But the new films revealed Pongo’s fracture had worsened, to the point that it could not be treated.
He was euthanized Monday morning while still under anesthesia.
Pongo, born in 2009 at Denver Zoo, arrived at Zoo Miami at less than a year old and grew to be Zoo Miami’s tallest giraffe.
“He will be terribly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him and the privilege of working with him,” the zoo wrote on its Facebook page.
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