Giraffe dies at Los Angeles Zoo

From City News Service:

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A Masai giraffe that has lived at the Los Angeles
Zoo since 1983 has died, likely due to complications that arose while giving
birth to a stillborn calf, zoo officials said today.
   The giraffe, Asali, was a year old when she arrived at the zoo from
Kenya. She had given birth to 12 calves during her time at the zoo.
   ``The Los Angeles Zoo is saddened by the loss of Asali,'' said Zoo
Director John Lewis. ``Over her many years here at the zoo, Asali was viewed by
millions of visitors and over two generations of school children. For many who
will never travel to Africa, Asali served as an ambassador to her wild cousins
and provided our guests with the opportunity to marvel at the beauty and
massive height of this species.''
   According to zoo officials, veterinarians worked for two days to remove
a stillborn calf from Asali. She died shortly after the calf was removed.
   Asali was one of the last wild-caught Masai giraffes to enter the United
States, zoo officials said. The 12 calves she gave birth to were sent to zoos
across the country, and several have given birth or sired offspring of their
own.
   Bob Barnes, the zoo's registrar, said he remembered helping to transport
Asali to the zoo from Los Angeles International Airport in 1983.
   ``We loaded her shipping crate onto a stake-bed truck and drove her up
the Harbor Freeway to the zoo,'' he said. ``She wasn't full grown, so we could
easily drive the truck underneath the overpass. The crate didn't have a top and
a lot of the people on the Harbor Freeway were surprised to see a giraffe
driving past them.''