Sick Giraffe At Maryland Zoo In Dire Condition: Officials

BALTIMORE, MD - Julius the baby giraffe is struggling to survive. The one-month-old stopped feeding overnight, and his health took a turn from critical to dire early Friday morning, Maryland Zoo officials said.

In a life-supporting measure, the Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital developed and donated a parenatal solution that Julius can receive through an IV.

"The goal is for Julius to remain stable enough through this intervention for the giraffe care team to be able to offer him the nutrients he so desperately needs in the pan from which he’s previously been drinking," a zoo spokeswoman for the Maryland Zoo said Friday.

The 6-foot-tall, 143-pound reticulated giraffe was born at 5:49 a.m. on June 15.

Although he tried to nurse at first, blood work showed he was not receiving the necessary antibodies to fight infection. Zoo workers rushed to give Julius a plasma transfusion from the Columbus Zoo a few days later.

Now, nearly a month later, he stopped feeding, and zoo officials described the prognosis as "dim."

• Julius The Giraffe Calf In Intensive Care At Maryland Zoo
• Giraffe Calf Born At Maryland Zoo Receives Plasma Transfusion

Photo courtesy of Maryland Zoo.