ABILENE, Texas — The Abilene Zoo announced the birth of a giraffe calf at 1:50 p.m. Friday, June 24, 2022. The calf, believed to be a female, is the third calf born to 11-year-old mother, Jamie.
The Animal Care team noticed labor had started a little before 1 p.m. Friday. Jamie went into labor inside the zoo's Giraffe Safari habitat, but when given the opportunity, moved into the Giraffe Barn holding areas in the zoo's behind-the-scenes area.
After birth, the zoo said the calf waited nearly 30 minutes before standing up for the first time. The calf stands at roughly 6 feet tall, but has not been weighed. That process will begin most likely Saturday as the Animal Care team does its first hands-on checks of the newborn. Although a name will not be decided for some time, the Animal Care team does believe the calf to be female.
For up-to-date details or progress reports, follow the Abilene Zoo on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. In the coming days, videos of the birth and all the calf's milestones will be shared.