Three-year-old Nora and her friend Giana were thrilled to feed the giraffes at Lion Country Safari. But it's also a sad time. Visitors discovered two giraffes died last month after getting struck by lightning.
Nora's mother found out through social media: "I'm pretty sure I put the sad emoji. I probably saw them when we do the safari so it's kind of sad."
That sadness spread throughout Lion Country Safari's Facebook page. There were messages of condolences from all over the country.
Lion Country Safari Managing Director Jennifer Berthiaume said: "It's been very sad; our team continues to grieve and it's just been so nice to see the support that we are getting."
She said there are thousands of messages. "A social media standpoint is to try and engage with every comment that we get, both good and bad. We honestly have not been able to keep up."
Some comments mentioned safety.
Berthiaume said that's always been a priority. "This unfortunate incident always has us look if we can do better. The swiftness of the storm that moved through on May 3 was very quick and very severe. The animals did have an opportunity to seek shelter however it's up to them and they are wild animals."
Visitors like Christian Torres showed their support in the grieving process. "Obviously it's very sad for the animal but it's all part of nature and you know with lightning you can't control that."