Oldest zoo zebra dies: The oldest zebra that was being kept in the United States died this week it was reported.
Citation, who was 37 and kept at Oregon Zoo in Portland, was euthanized by officials on Monday night, reported KOIN television.
“We knew this day was coming,” said zookeeper Diane Gould, according to the station. “But that doesn’t make it easier.”
Gould worked with the zebra since she was sent to the zoo 14 years ago. “She had a great personality, very easygoing,” Gould said.
“She liked sharing the savanna habitat with the gerenuk. If Citation was the first one out, she would wait for the gerenuk to come out. She really enjoyed the sunshine, and I’m glad she got to be in the sun quite a bit during her last days,” Gould said, reported FOX 12.
Citation was born in the Kansas City Zoo in 1975.
“She didn’t have much appetite at all,” Gould said of the zebra’s recent health. “She did take a few chunks of apple, which is a special treat for her. But I almost think she did that to make me feel better.”
A zookeeper on Monday night, however, saw that she was down and could not get up.
“As painful as it was for us, it was the most humane option,” Chris Pfefferkorn, the zoo deputy director, told FOX. “We have a lot of geriatric animals at the zoo, and our staff works hard to make sure they have a good quality of life. Citation not only lived a very long life, she lived a very good one.”
