A pair of missing baby giraffes from a troubled roadside zoo has shrouded a Virginia town in mystery, landed the zookeeper in jail, and caught the attention of actress Alicia Silverstone — who is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to their recovery.
The “Clueless” star announced last week she was joining PETA to offer the hefty reward for tips leading to the return of the calves who vanished from Natural Bridge Zoo seven months ago. The long-necked babies are believed to have been separated from their mothers dangerously early.
“Tearing babies away from their distraught mothers is devastating for both, no matter what species they are,” Silverstone said in a statement. “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.”
Her announcement comes after one of the owners of the zoo, Gretchen Mogensen, refused to say what happened to the missing giraffes — even under oath.
Mogensen is now serving a 100-day sentence at Rockbridge Regional Jail for refusing to comply with a court order to either explain what happened to the missing giraffes or hand them over to authorities, ABC 13 News reported.
In September, prosecutors told the judge presiding over the missing calves case that Mogensen was responsible for the giraffes regardless of whether or not they had been moved out of the zoo, the outlet reported.
At the hearing, Mogensen’s attorneys said that she couldn’t present a defense without incriminating herself in the process, as the criminal investigation is ongoing.
The judge ultimately ruled that the zookeeper had five weeks to either reveal where the baby giraffes were or return them to the Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit, the local station reported.
That countdown ended on Oct. 29, and Mogensen turned herself in to authorities to begin her sentence.
Meanwhile, the calves are still nowhere to be found.
The scandal around Natural Bridge Zoo first began in December 2023, when officials with the ALU seized more than 100 animals from the zoo as part of a criminal animal cruelty probe.
Twenty-eight of the animals were either recovered deceased or humanely euthanized.
Four living giraffes were also included in the lineup, but they remained at the zoo because it would be too difficult to move them.
Still, investigators regularly dropped by the zoo to ensure they were being properly cared for, along with the other 39 animals that remained on the property, WDBJ reported.
Somewhere along the way, though, the two female giraffes became pregnant, and gave birth by April 2025.
But when an investigator dropped by for an inspection that month, the newborns weren’t there, the outlet reported.
Seven months later, authorities are seemingly no closer to finding the missing calves.
The case has drawn national attention from animal rights activists and groups, including the three-time MTV Movie Award winner.
Baby giraffes typically rely on milk from their mothers for nine to 12 months after birth.
They start grazing, usually on smaller pieces of vegetation like leaves, by the time they are four months old, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
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