Lufkin Zoo Giraffe Dies

LUFKIN — The first giraffe to be exhibited at the Ellen Trout Zoo has died. Rafiki, a male Maasai Giraffe, was found dead in his stall on Thanksgiving day. A news release from the zoo says it appears as if giraffe had died suddenly and collapsed. It took nearly eight hours to perform a necropsy on the animal. The test results, which could help determine the cause of death, should be available in several weeks. Rafiki arrived at the Lufkin zoo in June of 1999. He had been born at the San Diego Zoo several years earlier.