Thirty-two employees stayed behind at Malibu Wine Safari as the Woolsey Fire swept toward the property in November 2018, while large animals, including Stanley the giraffe, remained on site because their keepers considered moving them more dangerous than sheltering them in place. The park’s owners later said that about 135 of roughly 140 animals survived, including Stanley and around 80 horses. The property is at Saddlerock Ranch, in the mountains above Malibu, and was badly damaged as the fire moved through the area. Stanley had become the most recognizable animal there, and photographs of the giraffe standing near the flames spread rapidly online. The images prompted public concern that the animals had been abandoned after staff evacuated.
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