Lance the giraffe from Columbus zoo provides means necessary to save baby giraffe

DUT-da-da-da! Columbus zookeepers to the rescue! Late Friday night, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium received an urgent call about a newborn giraffe–Julius– in Baltimore desperately needing plasma. Without hesitation, a couple employees hopped into a car with a pint of the stuff on dry ice and set out on their rescue mission.

They met a Maryland Zoo zookeeper halfway in Morgantown, WV, to make the handoff. Julius was saved.

It may seem like the Cbus zookeepers are the protagonists of this tale but in actuality, Lance is the hero.

Lance is one of a few captive giraffes in the country who is tolerant of blood and plasma tappings.

Lance is one of the few members of a newly established national giraffe blood bank. The bank was started by the Columbus Zoo and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado earlier this year. Together, they send emergency donations to zoos across the country to help save animals in the vulnerable species.

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