Cuteness Melbourne Zoo with zoo’s first giraffe calf in 20 years

The arrival of a healthy, knock-kneed calf on Friday had Melbourne Zoo keepers cheering and jumping for joy, as the event marked the zoo’s first giraffe birth in almost two decades.

After a gruelling* 460 day pregnancy, first-time mum Nakuru safely delivered her baby boy with the excited keepers glued to the livestream to witness this rare occasion, which follows the successful pairing of 13-year-old Nakuru with six-year-old male resident Klintun.

“Giraffes give birth standing up, so it’s a long way to fall,” Melbourne Zoo head vet Dr Bonnie McMeekin said, describing the two-metre drop that marked the new arrival’s first moments.

“But falling to the ground is a normal part of the birth process and helps stimulate* the calf to start its first breaths.”

After a stumble or two, the 75kg calf was licked lovingly by his mother and took his first steps under her watchful guidance.

“(He’s a) beautiful little boy,” said carnivores* and ungulates* coordinator Luke Hausler.

“She was giving us some pretty good signs the week before that she was getting ready

I think there were a few people that learnt some anatomy lessons on Friday afternoon on giraffes. Thankfully she recalled beautifully as we had planned into her nice, safe barn for her to birth in and from there everything went really, really nicely.

“The birth itself was really quick. We started seeing signs late in the afternoon and by five o’clock the little guy was on the ground already.

“A giraffe birth does tend to be pretty quick, which is incredible given the size of the calf that comes out.”

Mr Hausler said mother and son were now enjoying getting to know each other.

“It’s been about 460 days or so that she’s been pregnant for,” he said. “We’ve known pretty well the whole way through that she’s been pregnant, so it’s been a (really) long wait.

“We were all very excited when we saw the first signs that she was ready to give birth. Then to see the little calf hit the ground and start to move around, we were all pretty relieved and super excited to grow the herd here.

“He’s adorable, there’s no two ways about it. He’s just got such a soft, beautiful gentle face.”

The team lovingly joked that the little animal is sporting a comb-over, as his ossicones (the pair of horn-like structures on the head of a giraffes) were just a little wonky.

“(We’re) also just being mindful about giving them their time and their bonding, so it’s been nice just to watch that side of it as well,” Mr Hausler said.

The sweet addition to the giraffe herd has not yet been named. He will now spend his first days bonding with his mum in the privacy of their barn, before stepping out into the limelight* and undoubtedly becoming the zoo’s cutest star.

The birth was cause for celebration at Melbourne Zoo and marked a significant milestone* in the conservation* of giraffes in the Australasian region. Giraffes are listed as vulnerable* on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and their population is declining, with just an estimated 69,000 remaining in the wild, as of 2018.

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GLOSSARY

• gruelling: extremely tiring and demanding effort and determination
• stimulate: to encourage something to grow, develop, or become active
• carnivores: meat-eating animals
• ungulates: a hoofed, typically herbivorous (plant-eating) quadruped (any animal with four legs) mammal
• limelight: being the subject of public attention and interest
• milestone: an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life
• conservation: careful preservation and protection of something
• vulnerable: species that are at risk of extinction in the wild

EXTRA READING

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Elderly camel living the high life

Camels’ classic response to pesto

QUICK QUIZ

1. How long has it been since a giraffe calf was born at Melbourne Zoo?
2. How long was the pregnancy?
3. How much does the new calf weigh?
4. Who are the parent giraffes and how old are they?
5. How many giraffes are estimated to remain in the wild, as of 2018?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Name that calf!
What do you think would be the perfect name for the calf? Choose a name inspired by information in the story or your own research. Write a letter that could convince Melbourne Zoo to use the name that you have chosen.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
What factors do you think cause some animals, like giraffes to have such long gestation periods (that’s the length of time that mothers are pregnant)? Brainstorm some ideas then use your research skills to see if you are correct.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Animal alliterations
With a partner, make a list of nouns you could use to name the newborn giraffe calf. For example, instead of a tiger, you could also say cat, or feline.

Pick your favourite noun and identify its initial sound — what sound it starts with, not necessarily what letter.

Now, using the initial sound, make a list of adjectives to describe the giraffe. Try to be specific. Don’t just look at the animal as a whole, look at their different features as well.

Build on these same sound words, and add any verbs and adverbs you could use to describe the animal and their movements.

Try to put it all together and use as many same sound words in a sentence, to create an alliteration. For example: the terrifying tiger, tiptoed through tangled trees chasing his prey.