Chester Zoo has welcomed another new baby, a rare Rothschild’s giraffe, the second birth of one of the endangered animals in just two months.
Orla, a highly endangered Rothschild’s giraffe, gave birth to the six-foot-tall calf in the early hours of Wednesday morning (May 8) after a two-and-half-hour labour.
The baby’s birth, including the two-metre drop from its mother and its first wobbly steps, was captured on video. As well as the little one’s first meeting with its two-month-old brother Mburo.
A spokesman for the zoo said the pregnancy lasted 477 days and the as yet unsexed calf is so far looking ‘strong and healthy.’
The spokesman said the birth, which is the second at the zoo in the space of just eight weeks, is another important boost for the global breeding programme for the endangered animals, with the wild population standing at just 2,650.
Giraffes slipped quietly onto the endangered species list three years ago. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the body that administers the world’s official endangered species list, said years of habitat destruction and poaching had reduced giraffe numbers by 30 per cent, placing them in the vulnerable category for the first time.