Ever Seen A Giraffe Use An Inhaler? Now You Can, And It’s Incredibly Wholesome

In a move that we’re surprised not to have seen from Madagascar’s Melman, a giraffe living at a UK zoo is now breathing easy after learning how to use an inhaler.

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Mahiri, a 16-year-old female reticulated giraffe resident at Banham Zoo in Norfolk, has a long-term nasal condition that sees her get discharge from both nostrils, and that can make it difficult and uncomfortable for her to breathe through them. Though it’s believed this could be caused by an autoimmune disorder, the exact cause of her condition is still unknown. 

As a result, the staff who look after Mahiri have been treating the giraffe based on her symptoms, which initially took the form of oral steroids, a type of drug that can help to bring down inflammation in airways.

But that wasn’t a permanent solution. “With these animals, we don’t want them on long term oral steroids. It’s always the aim to get these animals off treatment or moved onto alternative therapies wherever possible,” explained veterinary surgeon Dr Elliott Simpson-Brown in a video posted on Banham Zoo’s social media.

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And so, three years ago, zookeepers began shifting Mahiri towards using an inhaler to provide her treatment, using a specially designed piece of equipment to fit her mouth and nose in, leaving room for a little snack inside as encouragement.

“The job of the inhalers essentially is to mimic what the oral steroids do, but in a much more targeted way. So, the inhaler therapy essentially opens up those airways […] and reduce the amount of discharge that’s produced, and also her respiratory effort,” explained Simpson-Brown. 

It was a long, careful process. “Giraffe as a species can be quite nervous of anything new, so introducing medical equipment takes enormous patience and trust-building. Our keepers adjusted daily routines and worked at Mahiri’s pace to help her feel comfortable,” said Deborah Harris, Animal Manager at Banham Zoo, in a statement.

The keepers started off with a nebulizer – which turns liquid medicine into a fine, constant stream of easily inhaled mist – before eventually weaning Mahiri onto the inhaler, which gives more direct puffs of her medicine.

After three years of training, Mahiri is now confident using the inhaler, and is almost at the point where it’s hoped that the inhaler can replace the oral steroids entirely. “The fact that she now calmly accepts her inhaler is a real testament to the bond between her and her care team,” said Harris.

The next step is to hopefully find out what the cause of Mahiri’s condition is. “Trying to get diagnostic samples off giraffe is not that easy,” said Simpson-Brown. “What we’re going to need is some nasal swabs to test the actual discharge that we’re seeing, as well as a blood sample.”

“So, keeping everything crossed for the next steps, that we [manage] to get some answers and continue seeing her improve at this point.”