There’s been a baby boom of adorable proportions at Taronga Western Plains zoo in New South Wales.
This week a baby giraffe named Amahle (meaning “beautiful one” in Zulu) was born at the zoo in Dubbo and he quickly – if a little shakily – took his first steps. It comes just one week after his half-sister Zane entered the world, and makes the fourth baby giraffe born at the zoo this year.
Amahle’s birth and first steps were captured in a remarkable – if somewhat graphic – video released by the zoo.
All the recent calves have the same father – a bull named Unnami – the only breeding male at the zoo.
The name Zane means “well born and noble” in Swahili, the zoo said. “[Zane’s mother] Tulli is a very experienced mother, very relaxed and is showing all the right maternal behaviours caring for her calf,” said keeper Simone Low.
Tulli herself was born at the zoo in 1997.
Amahle was born to another mother, named Asmara, on Tuesday. “She is the most outgoing female of the herd so we knew she would feel comfortable wherever she gave birth,” said Low.
According to the keepers, new giraffe calves hide for most of the first couple of weeks, before the mother begins encouraging them to form a “creche” with the other calves in the herd. In this case, there will be four members of the creche when Zane and Amahle join two females, Nyah and Kito.
“Over the coming weeks, the two newest additions will start to become more confident and explore the rest of the exhibit with the other young calves, which will be great to see,” Low said.
