Giraffes in Legal Limbo at Natural Bridge Zoo

The three female giraffes at Natural Bridge Zoo are caught in an uncertain situation. While technically owned by Rockbridge County, the giraffes have remained at the zoo since authorities seized them on-site last December.

A letter from the Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit last month outlined that the giraffes would stay put for now due to safety concerns. According to the letter, the current cold weather and the advanced pregnancies of two of the giraffes make it unsafe to relocate them. “The temperature is now too cold to safely move the three remaining giraffes and two of the giraffes are too far along in their pregnancies to be moved. It is, therefore, necessary for the County to keep the giraffes where they are until temperatures improve and the two pregnant giraffes have given birth,” the letter stated. The zoo was also provided with guidelines to follow for the giraffes’ care.

Gretchen Mogensen, one of the zoo’s owners, said she was surprised to receive the letter, which included her name and that of JIG Ventures, the zoo’s new ownership entity. Mogensen emphasized that neither she nor JIG Ventures is directly involved in the ongoing legal case concerning the animals.

Reflecting on an earlier incident in October, Mogensen described the removal of Jeffrey, the zoo’s male giraffe, as deeply distressing. The process lasted eight hours and, according to her, caused significant stress to the animal. “For eight hours they basically, you know, ran him around inside the barn, shaking trash bags, big sheets of plastic at him, scaring him. You can see him, he’s extremely stressed out, and then you know, smashing him with the gate,” Mogensen said.

While relieved that the giraffes won’t be moved during the winter, Mogensen remains apprehensive about their eventual relocation. In the meantime, the zoo is awaiting the outcome of an appeal they filed against the Circuit Court’s decision to seize 71 animals from the property. For now, the giraffes will stay under the zoo’s care, though their future remains uncertain.

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