Giraffe Acupuncture: RWP Zoo Vets Going Above and Beyond

PROVIDENCE, RI (WLNE)—-Zookeepers at the Roger Williams Park Zoo are getting creative and straight to the point with one of their bigger animal problems. Veterinarians are using acupuncture on their 24-year-old giraffe to combat arthritis.
 
"Veterinarians here are able to provide a lot more advanced medical care than the giraffes would typically see in the wild so they do live a lot longer in captivity here,” explained Diva Malinowski Green, a veterinarian who performs animal acupuncture.
 
24-year-ols Sukari may not look her age but, the years are catching up to her body. Sukari recently started showing signs of arthritis pain in her hips, knees, and ankles. It’s a common problem for giraffes but not one that is easily fixed.
 
"When we were exploring different options for her medical treatment this is one of the things that our veterinary team suggested," said PJ Jones, animal care manager at RWP Zoo. "They had someone who would be able to help with the acupuncture and we thought this would be a wonderful thing to try."

Acupuncture is just one part of SUkari’s treatment. She also receives oral medications and injections. 
 
"We’ve been doing acupuncture with Sukari since the beginning of March and her zookeepers have been doing a wonderful job of desensitizing her to the needles," said Malinowski Green. "She loves the treatment once the needles are in. She can sit here all day with us feeding her and giving her attention she really does respond well to it."

Veterinarians at Roger Williams Park Zoo are one of only a handful in the country to utilize acupuncture on zoo animals.

"There are things age-related we cant fix," said Jones.  "Sukari’s starting to have problems in her joints and while we can’t fix that 100 percent, what we can do is help alleviate the pain. It’s just one piece of the puzzle to help her have a good quality of life."