It’s all joy at Dallas Zoo as it welcomed a healthy baby giraffe last week.
The zoo’s herd of six giraffes increased by one when giraffe mom Katie and dad Tebogo brought a new calf into the world. The baby female giraffe was born in the late afternoon of October 13.
Dallas’ newest baby giraffe weighed a little over 135 pounds at her well-baby checkup on day one of life, according to the zoo’s announcement on social media. The newborn calf already stands at about 5 feet tall, and will surely grow quickly in the coming weeks.
“She is very attached to mom and follows Katie around everywhere! The little one stayed behind the scenes this weekend, spending time with mom, along with Chrystal and Kendi,” the zoo explained.
The announcement continued to note, however, that “she is starting to venture out into the giraffe feed yard as of yesterday! Guests may catch a glimpse of her intermittently, but we don’t have a set schedule for when she’ll be out – we’ll let her and Katie’s comfort level dictate that.”
Visitors may be lucky to spot her at intervals, but her movement is still solely dependent on her mom’s.
It is unknown whether the zoo has named the newborn yet, as no name was cited in the zoo’s post.
The giraffe herd at the Dallas Zoo has recently thinned as several of the animals died from unrelated incidents, as reported by The Dallas Express. First, a young calf that had been born on July 4 had to be put down after it suffered catastrophic fractures in its right leg.
Then two more giraffes died in a single week toward the end of October 2021. The oldest animal in the herd, 19-year-old Auggie, died from liver failure, while the tallest giraffe, Jesse, passed away after a short bout with an unnamed disease.