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Newborn giraffe dies at Niabi Zoo

COAL VALLEY, Ill. — A newborn calf at the Niabi Zoo has died.

Officials at the western Illinois zoo released a statement Tuesday saying the 124-pound female calf was born last week, but only survived for several hours after she began to have trouble breathing.

Marc Heinzman is the zoo’s director. He says veterinarians were keeping a constant eye on the calf and tried to resuscitate her.

Pathologists at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine are working to figure out what caused the calf to die. Her mother, Mimi, has given birth to two healthy calves in recent years.

About half of newborn giraffe calves don’t live past the first six months.

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