Crowds of half-term visitors witnessed the birth of an endangered Rothschild’s giraffe at Paignton zoo in Devon.
The calf was born to mother Sangha at around 2.30pm on Thursday in front of staff, parents and children on a busy afternoon. The zoo let the mother choose where she wanted to give birth, and she picked a spot where she could be viewed by visitors.
Matthew Webb, the zoo’s senior head keeper of mammals, said: “We let her wander about and find her own place to give birth, rather than separate her off. She chose to give birth in the giraffe house in front of visitors in the gallery and a crowd of excited keepers.”
Sangha is originally from Liberec zoo in the Czech Republic, while father Yoda came from Givskud zoo in Denmark.
Phil Knowling, a spokesman for Paignton zoo, said zookeepers were monitoring the calf. “Remote cameras showed the baby feeding from mother overnight,” he said. “This morning keepers are hopeful that the baby is healthy and that Sangha will rear the calf, although it is very early days – we are still in the critical phase.”
Knowling told the Guardian that zoo staff believe the young giraffe to be a male, adding to the herd at the zoo which includes one adult male, two females and three other young calves.
We're delighted to announce the arrival of a #babygiraffe. Female Sangha gave birth at 2.30pm today. Video to follow! pic.twitter.com/fN18VDSun8
— Paignton Zoo (@PaigntonZoo) May 28, 2015
While most wild giraffes are classified as of “least concern”, Rothschild’s giraffes are a particularly rare subspecies, with only a few hundred members still living in the wild in areas of Kenya and Uganda. They are identified by their particularly dark and clearly defined markings.
A giraffe’s gestation period is between 400 and 460 days, with the mother giving birth standing. The umbilical cord breaks during the fall and the calf is usually on its feet within a few hours and can stand 1.8 metres (6ft) tall at birth.
Visitors to the zoo captured photos and videos of the rare birth. Twitter users documented tender moments between the mother and calf, including the newborn’s wobbly first steps.
Rothschild's Giraffe calf still looking a bit wobbly @PaigntonZoo @PaigntonZooEdu @UKZooGuide #Giraffe pic.twitter.com/OMVl7LjPhw
— Brian Lilly (@brglilly) May 28, 2015
