The Dallas Zoo is welcoming its newest member, a 6-foot-tall baby giraffe. According to the zoo, the very big, baby boy, was born on Sunday, Oct. 26, to first-time mother Chrystal.
Much like many human births, this birth wasn't without a few nervous and tense moments. According to the zoo, keepers were closely monitoring the pregnancy and when Chrystal's labor halted, they had to move the mom into a special, custom-built chute in the giraffe barn.
That chute allowed the veterinary team to get the calf into the correct position to be safely delivered. "The chute and our team’s training definitely paid off, allowing us to provide excellent emergency care to Chrystal and the calf," said vet Lynn Kramer, who is also the Dallas Zoo’s vice president of animal operations and welfare.
For now the new baby will have limited access to the feeding habitat but could go out into that area as early as next week. It will be a full three months until the calf will be big enough to hang out with the heard at night. Which is hard to imaging considering the "little guy" is already 120 pounds.
"A new giraffe is always a reason to celebrate," Kramer added. "They’re remarkable animals, and are seriously threatened in the wild. Conservation is a key mission of our zoo, and this calf’s birth will allow us to offer a timely teaching message about the efforts being made on their behalf."
The Dallas Zoo said the baby is a reticulated giraffe, a species with fewer than 4,700 left in the wild. He also won't be too far away from dad, Tebogo, who lives at the zoo. Of course, the herd calls the Giants of the Savanna area home.
