Watch beautiful moment rare baby giraffe is born at Chester Zoo | UK | News

Watch beautiful moment rare baby giraffe is born at Chester Zoo | UK | News

The heart-warming moment a species-saving baby was born in a British zoo has been caught on camera.

CCTV captured the long-legged giraffe calf arriving in the world just before midnight after a labour of three hours for new mum Orla at Chester Zoo.

The rare youngster is a Rothschild’s giraffe, the tallest species of the famously lofty mammals, and could grow to nearly 20 feet in height, meaning one day it could easily peek over the top of a double-decker bus.

It was a birth with a bump for the new arrival who plummeted six feet down to the ground from mum after a pregnancy lasting 472 days.

Zookeepers are yet to determine if the three-day old is male or female but said the calf already weighs more than 11 stone and stands at six foot tall.

Tens of thousands of Rothschild’s giraffes were once found in Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, however their population has suffered a 90 percent decline in recent years as a direct result of poaching and habitat loss.

With just 2,500 estimated to remain across the whole of Africa, and the last major stronghold now in Kenya and Uganda, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the species as vulnerable, which means it faces a high chance of becoming extinct in the future.

Rosie Owen, who is a zookeeper on the giraffe team and was one of the first to see the new arrival, said: « So far mum and baby are doing really well and, at just three days old, they’re spending some quiet time getting to know one another.

Orla is an experienced mum, and so we’re seeing all the right signs from her, she’s very nurturing and allows her little one suckle often while giving them little nudges of encouragement – especially as her calf is a little unsteady on its long legs. »

She added: « For many years giraffes underwent a silent extinction across Africa, with their declining numbers flying completely under the radar.

« But now, thanks to the international conservation breeding programme in zoos, paired with efforts in the wild to protect the remaining populations, numbers are slowly starting to bounce back in Uganda where we’re working alongside our partners.

« Together, we’re helping to create a future where the world’s tallest animal can thrive well into the future. »

Cet article est apparu en premier en ANGLAIS sur https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1878102/beautiful-chester-zoo-baby-giraffe


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