A baby giraffe joined the family at Abilene Zoo on June 24. Located in Abilene, Texas, the zoo worked to help the mother giraffe, Jamie, safely deliver her third calf. The calf, a yet-to-be-named female, is 6-foot-2 and weighs 116 pounds. An update from the zoo on June 27 explained that its Animal Care team found the young giraffe to be in “great health.” Still new to the world, the baby giraffe greeted the internet with shaky legs during a Facebook Live video from Abilene Zoo. Check out the video below to see the calf cuddling her mom and learning to walk.
“We announced last Saturday, as we celebrated World Giraffe Day, that we were expecting not one but two calf,” Clay Carabajal, Abilene Zoo’s Conservation Supervisor, said in the Facebook Live video. “We anticipated that Jamie would go first and have her baby, and we were absolutely correct.”
For now, the baby giraffe and her mother will rest and remain together before being put on exhibit at the zoo. Further updates on exhibit dates and the calf’s to-be-decided name can be found on the Abilene Zoo website and social media channels. According to Carabajal, the zoo plans to release a video of the giraffe’s birth soon.
Abilene Zoo expects another giraffe, Malaika, to also give birth soon. “Malaika is a first-time mom, so we will be monitoring that very very carefully,” Carabajal said. “Any time you have a first-time mom of any species, it’s always scary. So we’re going to make sure we monitor Malaika.”