Zoo Miami, 12400 SW 152 St., welcomed the 52nd giraffe to be born in the zoo’s history at 9:39 a.m. on Mar. 28.
The 7 1/2-year-old mother’s name is “Sabra,” and she arrived at Zoo Miami from the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, IA in November 2013.
The father’s name is “Titan” and he was born at Zoo Miami in June 2012. This is Sabra’s third calf as well as Titan’s third calf (from different mothers).
Within the several days of birth, the as yet unnamed newborn will undergo a neonatal exam where its sex will be confirmed (initial observations indicate that it is a male), it will be weighed and have blood taken, and will receive an overall wellness exam to help ensure a healthy start to its life. Mother and calf will remain off exhibit until the staff has determined that they have bonded well and can be introduced to the rest of the herd.
Giraffe have a pregnancy of approximately 15 months and the mother rarely, if ever, lies down while giving birth. The baby falls about 4 to 6 feet to the floor where it receives quite an impactful introduction to the world. Newborns usually weigh more than a hundred pounds at birth and stand nearly six feet tall.
The status of giraffe in the wild has recently been elevated from a “species of least concern” to “vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to significant reductions in their populations over the past several years.
