A Hollywood icon is offering a $50,000 reward for the return of two missing baby giraffes. The giraffes disappeared from the Natural Bridge Zoo in Virginia back in April.
Now, Alicia Silverstone is trying to save the animals. She's partnered with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to help locate them. According to a press release, the Hollywood icon is offering $50,000 for information that could help find the giraffes. According to PETA, they believe someone took the calves from their mothers after birth. They disappeared amid animal abuse allegations at the facility.
"Tearing babies away from their distraught mothers is devastating for both, no matter what species they are," Silverstone said in the release. "These missing babies need specialized care, and every day counts in finding them, so I hope someone with information about their whereabouts will come forward now."
Missing Giraffes
In a statement, PETA continues to describe the situation. They write, "The disappearance of the baby giraffes—who were discovered missing by state inspectors in April—is the latest disturbing development in an ongoing legal saga involving alleged animal neglect and abuse at the Natural Bridge Zoo. In 2023, authorities from the attorney general's office executed a search warrant at the roadside zoo and seized nearly 100 animals after finding animals kept in filth, sick animals denied veterinary care, and dozens of dead animal bodies and parts—including legs, a head, skin, tails, and frozen bags of feces, all from giraffes."
PETA says the zoo failed to notify authorities when the animals gave birth.
They write, "Two of the four giraffes who were seized (in place) by the state were pregnant. The attorney general's office ordered the roadside zoo to notify them when the babies were born—but the facility's operators failed to do so. According to public documents, the Natural Bridge Zoo has a history of prematurely separating baby giraffes from their mothers, with the roadside zoo shipping out at least 14 baby giraffes in the 10 years prior to the state's seizure. Giraffe calves typically nurse for up to a year or longer and remain closely bonded with their mothers well beyond weaning, relying on them for protection and vital early-life learning within their family herd."
