MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – On Aug. 24, Zoo Miami welcomed a new giraffe into the herd.
Sabra, a nearly 12-year-old giraffe, gave birth to a female calf.
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On Tuesday morning, Zoo Miami’s newborn giraffe made her exhibit debut where she cautiously explored her new surroundings.
Her mom, Sabra, was attentive but allowed the calf to venture towards the other individuals in the herd and was greeted by curiosity, along with smells and licks from most of them.
The yet unnamed calf is nursing and appears to be doing well as she is now fully integrated into the herd of nine. It is expected that she and her mother will now remain with the herd and be on exhibit with them moving forward.
Zoo staff gave the new calf, who hasn’t been named yet, a thorough series of exams at birth and all indications were that the more than five-foot tall, 120-pound baby giraffe is healthy, Zoo Miami spokesperson Ron Magill said.
While the new baby may be a South Florida native, her parents are Midwestern transplants.
Sabra arrived at Zoo Miami in 2013 from the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, while the new calf’s father, Malcolm, came to the zoo in 2018 from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. He’s a father of four.
Meanwhile, the new baby girl is Sabra’s sixth calf, according to the zoo.
Giraffes have a pregnancy of approximately 15 months and the mother rarely, if ever, lies down while giving birth. The newborn falls 4-6 feet to the floor where it receives quite an introduction to the world!
The status of the giraffe in the wild is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature due to significant reductions in their populations over the last several years.
For more information on how to see the giraffes, please visit: ZooMiami.org