The Hattiesburg Zoo is heartbroken to share the news of the passing of its much beloved Reticulated Giraffe, Sue Ellen, who passed away on Monday, November 17th.

At 25 years of age, Sue Ellen enjoyed a long and full life. The average life expectancy of a giraffe in a zoo environment is 25-26 years of age while a giraffe in the wild lives to be between 17-20 years of age.

While experiencing age-related health problems due to osteoarthritis for approximately a year, the Zoo shared her condition with the public in mid-October 2025. Throughout the entirety of her symptoms, Sue Ellen’s animal care and veterinary teams worked tirelessly to ease her pain and improve her quality of life through the administration of pain medications, joint supplements, hydrotherapy and adding softer habitat subs

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