Our cameras have captured the incredible moment a Rothschild’s giraffe calf drops from a great height during birth.
The leggy newcomer arrived into the world to new mum Orla, and the incredible moment was captured by the CCTV cameras in our Giraffe House at 11:30pm on Tuesday 12 March.
The world’s tallest mammal makes quite the arrival into the world, with the calf falling from a height of six feet onto a bed of soft straw following a 472 day pregnancy and a labour lasting three hours.
The youngster was stumbling to its feet and suckling from mum Orla for the first time all within just 30 minutes of being born.
Our zoo keepers are yet to determine if the two-day old is male or female and have said the calf already weighs more than 70kg and stands at 6 foot tall – but will grow to be more than 18 foot tall and weigh 1,000kg.
“Giraffes give birth standing up and so they really do enter world in dramatic fashion! Orla’s calf landed with quite a bump when it fell around six feet onto the floor, but this is totally normal and is actually really important part of the birth process – with the impact from the fall stimulating the calf and encouraging it to takes its very first breath.”
Rosie Owen, Zookeeper
Rosie continued to say:
“So far mum and baby are doing really well and, at just two days old, they’re spending some quiet time getting to know one another. Orla is an experienced mum, and so we’re seeing all the right signs from her, she’s very nurturing and allows her little one suckle often while giving them little nudges of encouragement – especially as her calf is a little unsteady on its long legs.
“For many years giraffes underwent a silent extinction across Africa, with their declining numbers flying completely under the radar. But now, thanks to the international conservation breeding programme in zoos, paired with efforts in the wild to protect the remaining populations, numbers are slowly starting to bounce back in Uganda, Africa, where we’re working alongside our partners. Together, we’re helping to create a future where the world’s tallest animal can thrive well into the future.”
Tens of thousands of Rothschild’s giraffes were once found in Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, however their population has suffered a 90% decline in recent years as a direct result of poaching and habitat loss.
With just 2,500 estimated to remain across the whole of Africa, and the last major stronghold now in Kenya and Uganda, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the species as Vulnerable – which means it faces a high chance of becoming extinct in the future.
Our conservation experts are currently working on the ground in Uganda with our partners, The Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Uganda Wildlife Authority, to help monitor and safeguard the animals in the wild. This vital work has now seen the population increase for the fourth consecutive year.
SLEEPING GIANTS
Back at the zoo, our Behaviour and Welfare scientists are also carefully monitoring how our giraffes sleep to help provide them with the best possible care and ensure we’re providing good-quality sleep opportunities.
As with people, the amount and type of sleep giraffes have each night can have a massive impact on their health and wellbeing.
In the wild, giraffes almost never sleep for longer than five-minute stretches as they need to stay alert for predators like lions. In fact, they have one of the shortest sleep requirements of all animals and often just get half an hour of sleep each day. However, with no predators in a zoo environment, giraffes are much more relaxed, and this is reflected in their sleep.
After watching them for over 100 hours, both in person and through CCTV footage, we found that our giraffes average around 2–3 good stretches of sleep each day, amounting to around 4.6 hours of sleep (mostly at night and while lying down). We also found that their average durations of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep — a stage of sleep that helps with things like memory consolidation and learning in humans — reflected good levels of welfare within the herd, which is testament to the dedicated care of our keepers.
By carrying out this unique zoo-based research, working with conservation partners to keep them safe in the wild, and providing a healthy population in zoos across Europe, we’re helping to ensure that this iconic species has a bright future.
Would you like to feed the tallest land animals in the world? Get closer than ever before to this amazing species with a Giraffe Experience, leaving you with incredible memories that will last a lifetime!