Can you name a baby that was taller than an NBA point guard at birth?  We can - this male Giraffe calf born at the Indianapolis Zoo on January 9.

Photo Credit:  Carla Knapp/Indianapolis Zoo

The calf is the zoo’s first baby of 2016 and stood six feet tall at birth and weighed 158 pounds.  The calf has not yet been named, but the zoo plans to hold a naming contest for the newborn soon.  This is the sixth calf — all of which were males — for 18-year-old mother Takasa. Like all Giraffes, Takasa gave birth standing up.  The calf stood and nursed by the time he was one hour old.  

Zoo keepers said the calf likes to explore his surroundings, but rarely ventures far from his mother.  He is the first calf for the zoo’s bull Giraffe, Majani.  Keepers note that the calf’s coloration is very similar to Majani’s, with pale, caramel-colored spots in contrast with Takasa’s cinnamon-colored spots. 

The tallest land mammals on the planet, Giraffes are under threat from shrinking wild lands and armed conflicts in their native sub-Saharan Africa. 

The Zoo’s Giraffe herd will remain in a heated indoor facility throughout the winter. The new family is expected to make its debut in the spring, and at that time, guests will have an opportunity to meet the new calf.