Giraffe calves can walk within 15 minutes of birth

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It will take almost a year before the calf is weaned from its mother

Newborn giraffe takes first steps at zoo April 21, 2004 By Bontle Moeng WEIGHING in at 100kg, the shy male giraffe calf, which is still to be named, took its first steps soon after birth at the Johannesburg Zoo on 17 April. The baby has boosted the population of giraffes at the zoo The newborn is a welcome addition to the zoo's giraffe population. Prior to its birth, there were only two giraffes at the zoo - its 14-year-old mother and nine-year-old father. Trying to mimic the natural environment in which giraffes exist, the family coexists with the red hartebeest and the grey duiker in a large enclosure and although there are no trees here, they are fed branches two to three times a day that are suspended on poles. Born after 15 months of gestation, giraffe calves can walk within 15 minutes of birth and at two weeks begin to eat plants. "For now we are feeding the little male a diet of teff, which is a special type of grass, oats and cut veggies," said Dominic Moss, curator of large mammals at the zoo. He explains that it will take almost a year before the calf is weaned from its mother and before it can feed exclusively on leaves of trees, shrubs, creepers, vines, flowers, seedpods and fruits as adult giraffes do. The giraffe, or Giraffa Camelopardalis, is the world's tallest living animal and while an adult female giraffe weighs about 800kg, the male can weigh up to 1200 kg. The height to the top of the head is 5m for a male and 4,5m for a female. A tough palate and lots of viscous saliva enables giraffes to digest acacia thorns with ease, hence their wide distribution in savannah and thick bushveld in sub-Sahara Africa. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za