PALM DESERT, Calif. — A California zoo has welcomed a new baby giraffe to its herd.
According to the Desert Sun, the Living Desert zoo in Palm Desert announced that first-time parents Shellie and Kelley welcomed a female calf Monday on the giraffes’ savanna habitat. The healthy newborn is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 143 pounds, the zoo wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.
“This sweet giraffe calf has captured the hearts of the community,” RoxAnna Breitigan, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement. “Many of our guests had a front-row seat along the guest pathway, and hearing their collective excitement as the calf was born and began to stand was a true delight.”
IT'S A GIRL! 🦒 The Living Desert's newest giraffe calf joined the herd yesterday, February 21, 2022 to first time...
Posted by The Living Desert on Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Although the mother and her calf are currently “bonding in the behind-the-scenes barn,” officials expect the new arrival to return to the savanna next week, according to the Facebook post. The zoo said it now has 10 giraffes in its herd.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the global giraffe population to be vulnerable, with just 98,000 living in the wild, the Desert Sun reported.
Hello Baby! We are excited to share that this morning (2/21/22), a giraffe calf was born on the giraffe savanna...
Posted by The Living Desert on Monday, February 21, 2022
©2022 Cox Media Group
