Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s staff is mourning the death of another giraffe, on the heels of giraffe calf Penny’s death in June.

Uzuri, 17, was euthanized Friday morning.

“Today was a hard day,” said zoo President and CEO Bob Chastain.

Uzuri had suspected musculoskeletal issues throughout her life, the zoo reported. After her back feet became unstable and she refused treats and medications, the animal care team decided to euthanize her.

“Uzuri was essentially our herd’s leader,” giraffe keeper Diana Catier said on the zoo’s Facebook page. She also was the first giraffe to greet the caretakers each day.

And she was known for her “characteristic dangling tongue,” the Facebook post said.

Giraffes live 15 to 25 years in the wild but typically survive 32 to 40 years in captivity, reports  giraffeworlds.com.

Since the euthanizations of Uzuri and 8-week-old Penny, the 200th giraffe born at the zoo, the zoo has 16 giraffes. A 17th is expected to be born any day, said zoo spokeswoman Jenny Koch.

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo long has been known for having the world’s biggest collection of reticulated giraffes, which in the wild are found only in North Kenya. But Koch couldn’t confirm that the claim still holds true, saying the zoo hasn’t researched that count recently.

Koch wouldn’t say how the zoo disposes of deceased animals’ bodies. But each state has its own rules on disposal of deceased zoo animals, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.