New giraffe baby will tide you over until April gives birth
The Memphis Zoo welcomes a new giraffe baby, and the pictures are aww-worthy.
Let me direct your gaze away from the pregnant-giraffe livecam for a moment. I know you're waiting with bated breath for April at New York's Animal Adventure Park to finally give birth. But you'll want to see this. Akili, a giraffe at the Memphis Zoo, gave birth to her first calf on April 3, with the zoo announcing the birth on Monday.
The new calf is named Bogey and he's just as adorable as you'd expect. Reticulated giraffe babies typically come in at 6 feet (1.8 meters) in height and weigh over 100 pounds (45 kilograms). A photo of the newbie with a zookeeper shows him already towering over the human. Bogey could eventually tip the scales at around 3,500 pounds (1,588 kilograms).
Bogey is not currently on exhibit. "Akili did not provide appropriate maternal behavior, so the zoo's animal caretakers have stepped in to hand-rear the infant," the Memphis Zoo says. "This is not unusual, as Akili is a first-time mother."
It seems like a good chunk of the internet is currently obsessed with April and the live feed of the pregnant giraffe strolling around her pen. The Memphis Zoo says it chooses not to livestream any of its animal births "for the health and safety of mother and baby."
Bogey did manage to make a public entrance. He was born at noon while his mother was out on exhibit. The zoo hopes to formally introduce the baby to the public in the coming weeks.
The Memphis Zoo staff will hand-raise the baby.
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