Baby Giraffe, Jafari at Fort Wayne children's zoo

The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo welcomed a baby giraffe to the herd on Sunday, August 5th, 2007. After a 15-month pregnancy, female giraffe Zuri delivered a healthy baby boy at about 12:15 P.M. in the African Journey barn. This is the first successful giraffe birth at the zoo since 1996.

Zoo Veterinarian Dr. Joe Smith gave Jafari his first physical Monday, August 6th, 2007 in the afternoon and he pronounced him to be in excellent health. Jafari currently weighs 136 pounds and stands 6' 5" tall. Jafari means "Dignified" in Swahili.

Young giraffes are extremely vulnerable to predators when they are born in the wild, so their first instinct is to stand and walk as quickly as possible. At just 30 minutes old, Jafari struggles with all his might to stand while his mother, Zuri licks him to provide encouragement. Watch this video and part 2 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeRrVBGYR6A to see how he gets stronger with each attempt.

http://www.kidszoo.org

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Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Baby
• Giraffe
• Jafari
• zoo
• cute
• adorable
• birth