(Colorado Springs) – The oldest giraffe at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) has died just five days after another giraffe at the zoo died.
Mashama, a male giraffe, died on Sunday, March 8, at the age of 16, which is the average lifespan of a male giraffe raised by humans. CMZoo said Mashama had good days and bad days, but the good days far outweighed the bad. Despite ongoing care, monitoring and weekly diagnostics, no pattern or reason for his “rest” was discovered and he died unexpectedly at approximately 1am on Sunday morning.
Previous coverage: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo mourns loss of beloved giraffe Masama
Just five days later, on Friday, March 13, female reticulated giraffe Muziki, the oldest giraffe in the CMZoo herd and the fifth oldest in human care in the country, died at the age of 27.
CMZoo President and CEO Bob Chastain addressed the difficult week in a letter to CMZoo members.
“I hate to think about it, but I’ve been involved in the loss of hundreds of animals throughout my life. A lot of animals, you know their names, and a lot of in-depth stories that we’ve told,” Chastain said. “Over the years, there have been deaths from old age, unexplained deaths, tragic events, and some that you could say were a direct result of human error. Each time, we have tried to walk a blurry line between sharing so much sad information about death, which we consider part of our lifelong animal care, and sharing the joy that we have every day working with these amazing animals.”
Courtesy of Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
According to the zoo, Muzyki’s health deteriorated rapidly due to age-related issues, including loss of bone density in his jaw. On Friday, her care team made the difficult but compassionate decision to euthanize her.
Muziki was born in CMZoo and she will be 28 years old on April 3, 2026. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the average life expectancy of a female giraffe in human care is 20 years.
“I will remember her as the leader of the herd,” said Giraffe Animal Care Manager Kacie Meffley. “She is gentle and confident. She teaches the newborn calves and giraffes that move to our zoo at CMZoo how to be giraffes because the herd will naturally follow her lead.”
Muziki also teaches people. The zoo said she was eager to attend training, and her care team often relied on her skills at giraffe care seminars hosted by the CMZoo International Giraffe Care and Conservation Center.
“Muzki is the matriarch of the herd, and both giraffes and humans work hard to earn her respect,” Meverley said. “She wouldn’t let anyone train with her, so once you earned her trust and respect, it felt special. I remember one day when we were putting a salve on her joints to help with arthritis. When other people would come up to her, she would move away, but she stood still and let me do it. That’s when I knew we had made a real connection.”
CMZoo said the giraffe care team provided Muziki with excellent care during the final stages of her life. The goal of the zoo is to give the animals a final good day, and the goal is to find the best time to say goodbye while giving the animals as many fulfilling days as possible.
“Muziki’s best last day was doing her favorite thing, enjoying the sunshine outside and receiving lettuce from guests, volunteers and staff,” Kacie said. “Eventually she had the entire barn to herself, with lots of options to lounge on the beach or participate in enrichment activities while spending time with the other giraffes and staff.”
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