Diallo the Watusi (Photo courtesy of the Virginia Zoo)
NORFOLK, Va. – The Virginia Zoo announced Friday that it euthanized one of its Watusi cattle this week that was suffering from a medical condition.
Five-year-old Diallo was experiencing an overproduction of mucus in one of his horns, which caused a weight difference between the left and right horns.
The Zoo said Diallo experienced no pain when he was initially diagnosed in early August. Veterinarian Dr. Colleen Clabbers and zookeepers monitored his condition and gave him a daily dose of Mucinex to help with the mucus breakdown process. They also added weights to his unaffected horn to help counteract the weight on the affected horn, but this was unsuccessful.
Until recently, Diallo’s condition was stable. Zookeepers noticed that he kept rubbing the bottom of his horn on surfaces around his exhibit, which caused further damage to the horn.
Taking Diallo’s welfare into consideration, staff decided to humanely euthanize him.
The Zoo still has one Watusi, Gamba, who has not shown any signs of the condition that plagued Diallo. It is exploring the possibility of getting more Watusi in the future.
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