The giraffe with the wonky neck sounds like a whimsical children’s book, but the story of Gemina is very much the real deal. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

On July 16, 1986, a giraffe was born at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. By age 1, she had traveled across the state to the Santa Barbara Zoo, where she would spend most of her life. Her name was Gemina, a Baringo giraffe native to the Kenyan Rift Valley, and she grew up to become one of the most famous giraffes in the world.

Gemina's famously “crooked” neck only became noticeable to the zoo and its visitors when she was around age 3. As the years passed, the bend in her neck became more and more pronounced. She was treated with several X-rays and an in-depth exami

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