Zoo Welcomes First Baby Giraffe in Nearly 20 Years, Watch Live Feed as Second Due Any Day
If you were obsessed with April the giraffe, you are going to fall in love with the new arrival at Ohio’s Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
A baby giraffe was born around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, marking a momentous occasion for the zoo, according to National Geographic.
The little calf is the first baby giraffe born at the Zoo and Aquarium in nearly 20 years.
Zuri, the proud mom, is 8 years old and ecstatic about her little one’s birth after carrying the baby for a total of 15 months.
While the baby giraffe’s sex is unknown at this time, the moments leading up to the birth were all captured on a live video feed at the zoo and are still available today through National Geographic’s giraffe birth cam.
The zoo is closely monitoring the mother-baby duo, which seems to be doing quite well.
It is allowing Zuri to bond with her little bundle of joy until they perform a checkup of the baby giraffe.
To make this announcement by the zoo even sweeter, the other giraffe that shares the enclosure with Zuri and her new calf is expecting a little one of her own soon! The mother-to-be Cami is 6 years old.
“I am extremely proud of our dedicated animal care team members, who — due to the incredible bonds they share with the animals — have been able to provide top quality care around the clock to both Cami and Zuri throughout their pregnancies, with additional support from our wonderful volunteers,” Tom Stalf, president and CEO at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said in a statement.
“We certainly have a lot to celebrate with the arrival of this calf, and we also look forward to welcoming (Cami’s) calf soon as these births mark an important achievement in helping to protect the future of giraffes,” he added.
Baby giraffes typically weigh around 100 to 150 pounds at birth and reach up to six feet tall. The new baby calf is a Masai giraffe.
You can take a peek at Zuri and her little newborn live and watch for the birth of Cami’s baby too, which is expected to happen any day now.
While a total of 19 giraffes have been born at the zoo, these two babies are the first arrivals since opening the Heart of Africa region in 2014.
The Columbus zoo has nearly 10,000 animals of 600 different species from around the world.
Congratulations Zuri on your new little arrival. Cami, we wish you well on your baby-to-be. We will be watching for the moment the next little one enters the world.
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