Singapore Zoo has released photos of its latest addition, its first giraffe calf in 28 years. Born on Aug 31, he’s been rightly called an SG50 baby. The unnamed calf has since grown 40cm and now stands at 2.3 metres.
During the calf’s first month, zookeepers kept them separated from the rest of the giraffe herd to allow mother Roni and baby to bond, and to ensure the calf was nursing properly. Gradually, mother and baby were reintroduced to the other two giraffes in the herd — Growie, the father, and Lucy, an unrelated female, which arrived in Singapore together with the mother.
The conditioning process took close to three weeks, as keepers wanted to ensure the calf was accepted by the herd. All four are now comfortably sharing the exhibit and can regularly be seen grooming each other to strengthen their bonds.
Aside from the mother’s milk, the calf can now be seen nibbling on leaves and chopped vegetables such as carrots. He now spends his days exploring and running around in the exhibit at the Zoo’s Wild Africa zone. While he’s starting to get used to passing trams and visitors, he will still race back to the safety of mom’s towering presence when faced with something unfamiliar.
Those visiting Singapore Zoo are encouraged to take photos of the new addition and upload them with the hashtag #sg50babygiraffe. Visitors can follow updates on the baby giraffe’s development atwww.zoo.com.sg/sg50babygiraffe.
Photo: Wildlife Reserves Singapore
