NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
A premature giraffe named Milani was delivered via rare c-section after her mother\u2019s health rapidly declined at the Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard, Kansas<\/p>\n
The Tanganyika Wildlife Park team consulted six veterinarians and nine institutions to save the calf\u2019s life, though it was determined that there was no saving the mother<\/p>\n
Milani remains in \u201ccritical\u201d condition after being born three to seven weeks early and could become the first giraffe calf to survive a C-section<\/p>\n
A rare premature giraffe was delivered safely \u201cagainst all odds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The premature calf named Milani was born three to seven weeks early via cesarean section (C-section) on Saturday, July 11, the Tanganyika Wildlife Park (TWP) in Goddard, Kansas, announced in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n The team at the wildlife park said they performed the rare C-section on Milani\u2019s mother, Virtue, after she \u201cgradually lost her appetite\u201d and her health began to \u201cdecline\u201d over the month prior to the calf\u2019s arrival.\u00a0<\/p>\n TWP said they trained their giraffes to voluntarily enter a specially designed chute, and were able to get Virtue to do the same to \u201cdraw blood, administer medication, give fluids, and check on her baby.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The blood tests showed that she had elevated lactate, \u201can early signal that a compromised animal is failing at the cellular level,\u201d and her unborn calf was at risk, the wildlife park said. They consulted with six veterinarians and specialists and nine institutions on how to save the calf.\u00a0<\/p>\n A second exam taken on Virtue within 72 hours showed that her lactate had \u201cclimbed sharply,\u201d her blood had been \u201cshowing signs of a clotting disorder\u201d and her \u201corgans were shutting down.\u201d Experts at TWP determined that her \u201ccondition was irreversible,\u201d but her calf could be saved.<\/p>\n TWP said in its release that the team decided to proceed with a terminal C-section, which is performed with the knowledge that the calf\u2019s mother may not make it. The team sedated Virtue and delivered her calf surgically. She was euthanized while under sedation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMost people have no idea what this work actually looks like,\u201d said Chief Operating Officer LynnLee Schmidt in a statement. \u201cThey don\u2019t know that the keeper walking to the break room just finished tube feeding a baby giraffe, or that by 11 a.m. the Curator of Care is covered in sweat, amniotic fluid, and tears, or that the car passing them on the interstate is carrying plasma to a premature calf.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf they knew, I think they\u2019d be in awe of this team,\u201d Schmidt added.<\/p>\n A necropsy done on Virtue determined that she had \u201cadvanced heart and kidney disease, and a uterine cyst\u201d and the \u201coutcome was unavoidable.\u201d<\/p>\n The TWP team said most calves pass through the birth canal and drop nearly six feet to the ground out of an adult giraffe\u2019s womb, which helps stimulate breathing. However, since that wasn\u2019t the case in this circumstance, the team had to manually suction the calf\u2019s nose and mouth, dry her off, provide oxygen and work to stimulate her breathing.<\/p>\n The condition of Milani, who had been born at about a hundred pounds, \u201cremains critical,\u201d according to the TWP team, which also noted that there has been no documentation of a giraffe calf surviving after being born premature through a procedure.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c… She is being asked to do things her body had not finished preparing for,\u201d TWP said in a statement. \u201cShould she pull through, she would be the first giraffe calf known to survive a cesarean section. Every milestone she has reached so far is one that was not expected of her.\u201d<\/p>\n