'Athletic and Curious' Young Giraffe Escapes from an Arizona Zoo to Get Her Own Snacks

Mar. 15, 2025

Msituni the giraffe.Photo:Reid Park Zoo

Reid Park Zoo

A giraffe at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona, decided to familiarize herself with the neighborhood.

Msituni the giraffe at Reid Park Zoo.Reid Park Zoo

The zoo’s animal care and veterinary teams persuaded Msituni to return to her habitat with additional snacks and treats. “We were very lucky that she was calm; it was very easy,” added Kluge.

According to KGUN 9, this was the first time this type of incident had occurred at the Reid Park Zoo. However, Kluge assured reporters that her team was readily prepared. “We do a different drill pretty much every month,” she shared. “We have our staff go through to plan and reenact [these scenarios], so it’s second nature.”

The zoo will make “short-term modifications” to its giraffe enclosure to keep Msituni, the other giraffes, and zoo patrons safe. The zoo’s statement also noted that “longer-term permanent modifications will be made as well to accommodate Msituni’s athletic and curious nature.”

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The zoo maintains that there was never a risk to the animals or humans in Msituni’s vicinity during the giraffe’s escape. Kluge explained toArizona Centralthat giraffes “are not bound to go after a person or another animal, but just because of their size, we want to be careful,” The zoo was closed when the incident occurred.

The escape attempt could be seen as Msituni’s introduction to her fellow zoo residents, as she is new to the Reid Park Zoo. The young giraffe was welcomed to the park on February 19 and joined giraffes Penny, Jasiri, and Moyo.

“We are very excited for Msituni to join us here at the zoo,” Adam Ramsey, Director of Animal Care at Reid Park Zoo, saidat the time of her arrival. “She is a very friendly giraffe and will make a great companion for our giraffes.”

source: people.com