Long Necked Nuzzling
August 02, 2009
The Hogle Zoo is on a roll with another baby and this time it's a big one! A 6' 4" giraffe calf was delivered Thursday evening and is doing quite well. Even with those long legs and ungainly frame, baby giraffes typically stand within the first hour of birth.
All nuzzled out.
LIKE CHRISTMAS IN JULY! NEW BABY GIRAFFE DELIVERED AT UTAH'S HOGLE ZOO
(Salt Lake City, UT) - It's a little early for packages from Santa, but a
baby giraffe was delivered Thursday July 30 at Utah's Hogle Zoo. Interviews
and video/photo opportunities available Friday July 31, 2009 (today) from
9:30 to 11:30 am.
The baby giraffe, a male, was born to Hogle Zoo giraffes Kipenzi
(six-years-old) and Riley (six-years-old). First-time mother Kipenzi had the
baby outdoors in the yard which she shares with another female giraffe.
Right now, the baby seems small next to the full-sized giraffes, but during
its first week of life will grow nearly one inch per day. Baby giraffes
weigh about 110 pounds and can rise to their feet and nurse within hours of
birth. They can also run before they are 24 hours old.
The new giraffe baby was expected this summer, and Kipenzi appeared she was
going into labor just before noon Thursday. By about 12:30 she had
successfully delivered her first baby. Less than an hour later, the baby
giraffe was standing for the first time.
"The delivery went very well," said Dr. Nancy Carpenter Hogle Zoo Associate
Director-Animal Health. She adds, "It took about an hour and a half from
start to finish. Shortly after birth the giraffe was working to stand, and
it already seems that Kipenzi is a good mom who is bonding well with her
baby." Giraffes have no specific breeding season, and give birth after a
gestation of about 14 to 15 months.