When state officials inspected the zoo’s giraffes back in April, they made a shocking discovery: two of the giraffes which had previously been pregnant had given birth. Their calves were nowhere in sight. In fact, the births were so recent, one giraffe still had afterbirth on its tail, according to court records.

A lengthy legal battle over the future of animals currently housed at the Natural Bridge Zoo hit a new front Tuesday, as authorities seized one of the zoo’s giraffes after failing to do so on Monday.