April The Giraffe's Calf, Aziz, Unexpectedly Died At East Texas Zoo

Of the the calves born to April the giraffe unexpectedly died Tuesday at a zoo in Grand Saline, Texas.

Azizi's death was announced on Facebook by the East Texas Zoo and Gator Park, where Azizi was living.

Azizi was being treated for a parasitic issue, the zoo wrote. The male calf was improving but he suddenly died during a veterinary exam. An autopsy reveled that the giraffe died from a "twisted gut around his cranial mesenteric artery" and that it was "unexpected and unpreventable," the zoo wrote.

The calf was born in March 2019 and was relocated to the East Texas Zoo earlier this year.

Azizi was April's fifth and last baby before being put on contraceptives last year.

April became an internet sensation in 2017 when Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, livestreamed the final seven weeks of her pregnancy. Her YouTube stream received more than 232 million views before her calf Tajiri was born.

Azizi's birth was also livestreamed, but it drew far less viewers than April's first live birth.

April lives at the Animal Adventure Park with Tajiri and two other adult giraffes, according to the park's website. April has retired from the park's breeding program.

Photo: Getty Images