It almost sounds like a setup for a joke.

What do you get when you refuse to turn over the babies of two pregnant giraffes that the state seized from your zoo? Contempt of court. And 100 days behind bars.

But the Natural Bridge Zoo case is not a laughing matter. This case shows how easily animals become commodities when profit is allowed to outrank their welfare. The saga is already stretching longer than a giraffe’s neck.

This is a story about giraffes, but first, I must start with an elephant.

The search warrant authorizing a Dec. 2023 raid on the zoo by the Virginia State Police largely hinged on its handling of one elephant, Asha. The warrant said Asha lived sitting in her own waste, unable to move out of it due to her shackles.

A confidential informant cited in the warrant said he regularly saw her handler, Mark Easley, hit her with a metal pole in sensitive places. “I’m not her friend,” Easley is quoted as saying in the warrant. “I’m her boss, and you gain respect through fear.”

The state found such treatment of animals to be a pattern. After the search, the state ordered the seizure of 100 animals from the zoo.

In March 2024, a Rockbridge County jury decided that the zoo could keep 29 animals. The state held the other 71. The zoo’s four giraffes were among the animals that remained state property.

Giraffe Calves Contraband

Even after the giraffes fell under state custody following the raid, they remained in the zoo for a simple reason: the giraffes’ large necks made moving them a logistical challenge.

The Mogensens, who own the zoo, added to those challenges.

In October 2024, the state transported Jeffrey, the single male giraffe, out of the zoo. The process was not smooth. A Virginia State Police officer testified that Karl Mogensen threatened to shoot anyone on his property, though Mogensen later said he didn’t plan to harm anyone. A large rock in the giraffe enclosure also required a forklift to remove, according to courthouse records.

In July 2025, a Rockbridge County court found Gretchen and Karl Mogensen in contempt for interfering with Jeffrey’s removal. They received suspended jail sentences and fines. And the last giraffes remained at the zoo until May 2025 due to another problem: two giraffes became pregnant while in state custody at the zoo.

A court order required the Mogensens to prevent the animals from breeding. Still, the state had to wait until the giraffes were delivered to move them.

On April 7, 2025, state inspectors came to check in on the giraffes, but Gretchen Mogensen said she was not available. After a two-hour delay the next day, the state team was able to visit the enclosure. The giraffes were running, far more mobile than the team anticipated. Investigator Amy Taylor noted afterbirth on one tail, but something was missing: the baby giraffes.

The Mogensens’ lawyer said that the original giraffe court order did not mention the baby giraffes, but court records cited a Supreme Court ruling that an animal’s offspring belongs to the animal’s owner.

The state wanted the giraffes.

According to court records, Gretchen Mogensen said that the court orders did not apply to her. The courts had a different view.

In September 2025, a Rockbridge County judge found her guilty of two contempt charges. She received a $1,000 fine for one charge and a sentence of 100 days in jail if she did not turn in the giraffes by Oct. 29, 2025.

The Virginia Court of Appeals declined to hear her case. On Oct. 29, Gretchen Mogensen checked herself into jail.  As of today, the baby giraffes are still missing.

Giraffe Economics

For the Mogensens, staying silent may make more sense than complying.

The $1,000 fine that Gretchen Mogensen received pales in comparison to what two giraffes could fetch on the private market. According to court records, one adult giraffe can sell for as much as $250,000.

With about 350 giraffes in the United States, supply is scarce, and prices are high.

This is not new territory for the zoo. State records show that the Natural Bridge Zoo has bred and sold at least 14 giraffes over the past decade.

Giraffe economics explain why the calves remain missing.

When animals become assets, the law becomes a suggestion.

Zoos are not inherently unethical. At their best, they preserve endangered species and introduce people to animals that live halfway around the world.

But facilities like the Natural Bridge Zoo operate under a different model.

Most roadside zoos operate outside major accreditation systems like the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which requires member institutions to provide safe habitats for their in-house animals.

The giraffes living at the Natural Bridge Zoo lived without that protection.

In early 2024, a giraffe expert testified in the zoo trial that the giraffes were cold and had overgrown hooves. 

A year later, one giraffe, Valentine, died en route to her new home in Georgia, according to a press release from the Virginia Attorney General’s office. The office is now investigating the conditions that led to her death.

As the giraffe saga increases in scope, it has garnered more attention from outside the Rockbridge area.

Actress Alicia Silverstone, in coordination with the animal advocacy group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is offering $50,000 for leads about the baby giraffes’ location, according to the PETA website.

The baby giraffe story isn’t just a spectacle. It’s an indictment of purely profit-driven zoos. And it’s happening just a short drive away.