Giraffe's sudden death at New Orleans zoo puzzles his keepers

One of the giraffes at a zoo in New Orleans died suddenly this week, leaving officials there shocked and puzzled.

The Audubon Nature Institute announced the "sudden loss" on Thursday, saying in a Facebook post that a "beloved" 9-year-old giraffe named Jumo had "passed away overnight." Jumo was born at the St. Louis Zoo but had lived at the Audubon Nature Institute's giraffe habitat since he was 1 year-old.

“With only 100,000 giraffes left in the world, the loss of Jumo is particularly disheartening,” Audubon Nature Institute's senior veterinarian, Bob MacLean, said in a statement Thursday. “Having recently observed World Giraffe Day, it is critical that Audubon continues to inform the public about the importance of preserving these majestic animals.”

The Audubon Nature Institute's veterinary experts will work with pathologists at Louisiana State University to conduct an animal autopsy to determine the cause of death. The nonprofit said it will take weeks for all tests and evaluations to be completed, and an exact cause of Jumo's death may never be known for sure.

Just three giraffes -- Chui, Forrest and Bucko -- remain at the Audubon Nature Institute's giraffe habitat.

“Our animal care staff and guests will certainly miss Jumo,” Audubon Nature Institute's vice president and zoo general curator, Joel Hamilton, said in a statement Thursday. “He was an amazing ambassador for his species and we are honored to have had the opportunity to care for him.”

Last year, the giraffe moved from "least concern" to "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's red list of threatened species, due to a population decline of 36 to 40 percent from 1985 to 2015.