{"id":720452,"date":"2026-06-23T04:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/720452\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T04:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:00:12","slug":"missing-giraffe-calves-found-safe-after-year-long-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/720452\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing giraffe calves found safe after year-long search"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">It\u2019s been more than a year since two giraffe calves were reported missing, but they have finally been found safe. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/oag.state.va.us\/media-center\/news-releases\/3043-office-of-the-attorney-general-secures-safe-return-of-giraffe-calves-following-extensive-investigation-into-natural-bridge-zoo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/oag.state.va.us\/media-center\/news-releases\/3043-office-of-the-attorney-general-secures-safe-return-of-giraffe-calves-following-extensive-investigation-into-natural-bridge-zoo\">Office of the Attorney General of Virginia<\/a> announced that the animals disappeared from the Natural Bridge Zoo in 2025, but were recently located and taken to a facility for care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">The attorney general\u2019s office did not say where or how they were found. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">The incident dates back to a 2024 trial where a jury decided to grant custody of dozens of the zoo\u2019s animals to Rockbridge County after the panel determined that the animals had been subjected to cruel treatment or did not have adequate care, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/news\/local\/2-baby-giraffes-vanished-more-than-year-ago-they-are-now-georgia-safari-park\/PBM33AHRCBFAXCKEKHEEHSNNTU\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/news\/local\/2-baby-giraffes-vanished-more-than-year-ago-they-are-now-georgia-safari-park\/PBM33AHRCBFAXCKEKHEEHSNNTU\/\">WSB<\/a> reported. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">Three giraffes remained at the zoo, and one was eventually relocated. But two were unable to be moved due to the cold weather and their pregnancy. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">The zoo had been required to inform the attorney general as soon as two giraffes gave birth. Months later, it was discovered that the calves had been born, but the calves were nowhere to be found. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wdbj7.com\/2026\/06\/16\/baby-giraffes-found-safe-after-disappearing-natural-bridge-zoo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wdbj7.com\/2026\/06\/16\/baby-giraffes-found-safe-after-disappearing-natural-bridge-zoo\/\">WDBJ<\/a> reported that the zoo\u2019s co-owner, Gretchen Mogensen, was ordered to serve a 100-day jail sentence for not telling the court what happened to them or to turn them over. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">At one point, \u201cClueless\u201d actress Alicia Silverstone had offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the giraffes\u2019 whereabouts. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">The zoo had been at the center of animal abuse allegations since 2023, with 96 animals having been seized by state authorities, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wdbj7.com\/2026\/06\/16\/baby-giraffes-found-safe-after-disappearing-natural-bridge-zoo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wdbj7.com\/2026\/06\/16\/baby-giraffes-found-safe-after-disappearing-natural-bridge-zoo\/\">WDBJ<\/a> reported. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">The Natural Bridge Zoo\u2019s four co-owners are facing a total of 55 misdemeanor charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph\">The two giraffes are currently being kept at the Georgia Safari Conservation Park, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/news\/local\/2-baby-giraffes-vanished-more-than-year-ago-they-are-now-georgia-safari-park\/PBM33AHRCBFAXCKEKHEEHSNNTU\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/news\/local\/2-baby-giraffes-vanished-more-than-year-ago-they-are-now-georgia-safari-park\/PBM33AHRCBFAXCKEKHEEHSNNTU\/\">WSB<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 fcApnw body-paragraph body-copyright\">\u00a9 2026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been more than a year since two giraffe calves were reported missing, but they have finally been&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":720453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1147,69206,79,201],"class_list":["post-720452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animals","tag-giraffes","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=720452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/720453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=720452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=720452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=720452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}