{"id":293126,"date":"2025-11-18T18:19:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/293126\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T18:19:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:19:11","slug":"woburn-safari-park-giraffes-high-risk-knee-surgery-is-a-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/293126\/","title":{"rendered":"Woburn Safari Park giraffe&#8217;s high-risk knee surgery is a success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762859290_651_grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/9d735060-c39c-11f0-a624-43243f904594.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Woburn Safari Park\/PA Media A team of vets work on the giraffe, which is lying on its side on hay. It has tubes going into its mouth and its head is covered with a white blanket. There is a screen showing its heart rate in the background.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/>Woburn Safari Park\/PA Media<\/p>\n<p>A team of vets massaged the giraffe&#8217;s neck during the hour-long procedure<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">High-risk surgery on a 500kg (80st) giraffe with a rare knee condition has been completed successfully .<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire said one of its tallest residents, the Nubian giraffe Sahara, was recovering well after the one-hour procedure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Sahara had developed a kneecap condition called &#8220;locking stifle&#8221;, causing her leg to lock and severely limit her mobility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;This was one of the most complex cases we&#8217;ve tackled,&#8221; said Nathalie Wissink-Argilaga, the park&#8217;s head vet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Equine medicine was used to treat Sahara ahead of the surgery in early October, in what the park said was a step forward in the field of giraffe care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;With no precedent in giraffes, we adapted a technique used in horses to stabilise Sahara&#8217;s joint and give her the best chance of recovery,&#8221; Ms Wissink-Argilaga added.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762859290_651_grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ed2e14a0-c39c-11f0-a624-43243f904594.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Woburn Safari Park\/PA Media A vet wearing a blue jumper operates on the giraffe's knee with his hands, while kneeling and resting on his elbows. He looks focused as the giraffe lies on its side on a bed of straw. Two other people are kneeling down around the prone animal.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/>Woburn Safari Park\/PA Media<\/p>\n<p>Sahara&#8217;s head was supported by a wooden board during the operation<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The operation posed a significant challenge due to the large mammal&#8217;s unique anatomy making anaesthesia unpredictable, the zoo said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Lying down for extended periods of time can also compromise the animal&#8217;s blood circulation and cause life-threatening complications.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">To minimise risk during the surgery, the veterinary team prepared a deep hay bed and supported Sahara&#8217;s neck with a wooden board.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">They also used blindfolds and earplugs to reduce stress, while keepers massaged her neck throughout the procedure to maintain circulation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The specialist team included vets, an equine surgeon and an anaesthetist.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762859290_651_grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/39f49f20-c39d-11f0-a624-43243f904594.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Woburn Safari Park\/PA Media Sahara standing upright in front of large trees. She has typical giraffe features: a long neck, tan and brown colours and pointy ears. Another giraffe is below her in the background.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/>Woburn Safari Park\/PA Media<\/p>\n<p>Sahara had returned to her &#8220;familiar, confident self&#8221;, the zoo said<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Following her surgery, Sahara was quickly back on her feet &#8211; a moment of joy for the dedicated veterinary and keeper teams who supported her throughout,&#8221; the park said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Her recovery continues to progress well, with careful monitoring of her movement, behaviour, and rest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;Thanks to the expertise and commitment of the team, Sahara has returned to her familiar, confident self.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Woburn Safari Park\/PA Media A team of vets massaged the giraffe&#8217;s neck during the hour-long procedure High-risk surgery&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-293126","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}