Dallas Zoo welcomes new baby giraffe

DALLAS - A new baby giraffe was born this week at the Dallas Zoo.

According to the Dallas Zoo’s blog, the zoo’s beloved giraffe Katie gave birth to a baby boy on Tuesday. He now stands almost 6 feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds.

Both Katie and her calf are doing well. The calf will be spending the next few days learning to nurse and follow his mom.

“We consider ourselves so lucky to get to welcome this (big) little guy to the world here at the Dallas Zoo,” said Harrison Edell, the Dallas Zoo’s vice president of animal operations and welfare. “Katie brought this calf into the world like a pro, and we continue to be amazed at how quickly this baby giraffe is taking to his surroundings and learning his way with Katie there to guide him.”

They’ll remain in a private enclosure until they can bond and the calf meets his fellow herd.

“We look forward to sharing the adorable awkwardness and cute baby face of the giraffe calf with our visitors. But we also want our guests to know how critical a role accredited zoos have in conservation efforts, as we try to help maintain the species’ existence given the numbers in the wild are diminishing so rapidly,” said Gregg Hudson, Dallas Zoo’s president and CEO.

The zoo said the staff members who took such great care of 9-year-old Katie while she was pregnant will get the chance to name the baby. It will be announced before he goes on public display later this summer.

For more information, visit http://zoohoo.dallaszoo.com/2017/06/02/world-famous-giraffe-katie-welcomes-baby-boy/

The full birth video is also available online at https://youtu.be/X9wZjfcKVpw.