Here’s our rare Rothschild’s giraffe calf Murchison taking his first steps outdoors, side by side with mum Tula. pic.twitter.com/07zdPd0mid
— Chester Zoo (@chesterzoo) 20 January 2017
The lofty new arrival revelled in his first adventure with the rest of the Rothschild’s giraffe herd – all under the supervision of mum Tula.
Our zookeepers, who have named the calf Murchison after Murchison Falls in Uganda (home to the largest remaining population of Rothschild’s giraffes), have described the not-so-little youngster as “a touch shy” but say he’s now “starting to find his feet”.
Fiona Howe, assistant giraffe team manager, said:
Murchison was born on Boxing Day and since then he’s chosen to spend some quality time with mum Tula, who has really taken motherhood in her stride. Now he’s really starting to find his feet and explore his habitat.
It’s great to see the reactions of people when they see Murchison strutting his stuff for the very first time. Hopefully that excitement will lead to them wanting to learn more about these gentle giants. They are facing a silent extinction in their native habitat and there needs to be much more awareness of this.
If the high levels of poaching and habitat loss continue as they are, it is entirely possible that giraffes could become extinct in the wild in a generation. And once they’re gone, they’re gone for good. We must do all we can to ensure this doesn’t ever happen.
It’s estimated there are only 1,600 Rothschild’s giraffes left across Africa – making them one of the world’s rarest and most at risk species – as poaching and habitat loss continue to push the species to the very edge of existence.
In 2016 our giraffe experts travelled to Uganda and South Africa to assist with conservation efforts working to protect the animals in the wild. Our team – alongside project partners The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) – helped conduct the first ever census on the Rothschild’s giraffe in an attempt to better understand why one of the last remaining populations in Uganda has not grown in recent years.