Barn fire kills giraffes in suburban D.C. zoo

(The AEGIS Alliance) – A couple of giraffes died Monday due to a barn fire at a suburban zoo in Washington, D.C.

Roer’s Zoofari in Vienna, Virginia, grieved the fatality of a giraffe called Waffles “and his companion giraffe” on its website, where it declares the blaze started after the zoo shut for the day.

“Waffles was a favorite with our visitors and our team. We are heartbroken,” the statement says. “We are so grateful that no person or other Zoofari animals were injured or lost. And we deeply appreciate the firefighters who came so quickly to help extinguish the fire.”

Roer’s Zoofari reports approximately 20 various other animals that were in the location where the deadly fire ignited were saved. Its website notes kangaroos, warthogs as well as a baby goat amongst its occupants.

The zoo is going to be shut down up until Friday as staffers kind through the after-effects of the catastrophe.

“Our team is so dedicated to the wellbeing of every animal, so when any are lost, it’s a very emotional time,” the statement says. “We will be supporting each other through the healing.”

Giraffes live approximately 26 years, according to Encyclopedia Britannica Waffles was only 6 years of age.

It is not yet known at this time what caused the fire to ignite.

Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.