The two baby giraffes that have been missing from the Natural Bridge Zoo since early 2025 have been recovered safely, according to the office of Attorney General Jay Jones.
His office did not release information on where and how the giraffes were found, citing an “ongoing criminal investigation,” but said they are now in “a professional facility specializing in giraffe care” and “are safe and are receiving proper medical and behavioral support.”
The disappearance of the giraffes has been the subject of a criminal inquiry by the AG’s office for more than a year.
The case began in December 2023 when the attorney general’s office led a raid on the roadside zoo in Rockbridge County and confiscated animals as part of an animal abuse investigation. Four that weren’t seized were the giraffes; the state placed legal claims on them but kept them at the zoo because it had no way to move them.
In March 2024, a Rockbridge County jury ruled after a weeklong trial that the state could keep 71 of the animals while 29 should be returned to the zoo because there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support abuse charges involving them. Among the 71 animals that the state was given custody of were the four giraffes still at the zoo, one male and three females. Two of the females were pregnant, which complicated a possible transfer.
By late summer 2024, the details of how and when to move those giraffes prompted more court action and disputes that led to contempt charges against several members of the Mogensen family that owns the zoo. The Mogensens contended that the giraffe offspring belonged to them, not the state; a Rockbridge County judge ruled otherwise.
One adult giraffe was moved in fall 2024 to a park in Georgia, but the others remained over the winter of 2024-25 because it was deemed too cold to move them. During a state inspection in April 2025, the two females were found to be no longer pregnant, but no offspring could be found. (The two females were later moved to Georgia; the other male died during transport.)
When zoo manager Gretchen Mogensen would not reveal the whereabouts of the giraffe offspring, Circuit Judge Christopher Russell ordered her jailed for 100 days for contempt. Shortly before her release in February 2026, she and several others were indicted on a variety of misdemeanor animal cruelty charges and two felony counts of forging a public record. A procedural hearing on some of those charges is scheduled for Wednesday in Rockbridge County Circuit Court.
The whereabouts of the missing baby giraffes have drawn national attention. Actress Alicia Silverstone teamed with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to offer a $50,000 reward for information leading to their recovery. Jones’ office did not indicate whether that reward helped lead to the giraffes’ recovery.
In a news release, the attorney general’s office thanked the public “for the tremendous support shown throughout this investigation” but also sought more tips: “If anyone has further information about the illegal movement of the giraffes, please call our office at 804-786-2071.”
The baby giraffes are now about 15 months old. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation says that at that age, giraffes are about 10-12 feet tall.
