The Indianapolis Zoo announced the birth of a reticulated giraffe on Sunday, July 15. The new calf is the second baby giraffe born at the Zoo in 2007.
The calf, a healthy male, was born at about 1pm to mother Takasa (TA-KAH'-SA) inside the giraffe barn. The sire is the Zoo's adult male giraffe, Eddie.
The baby giraffe is about 6'2'' tall and weighs in at 158 pounds. Keepers have named the little one "Taji," (TAH'-GEE) an African name that means "crown."
"It's not too often baby giraffes are born anyway. Their gestation is 14.5 to 15 months, so every birth for us is kind of exciting," said Laura Balok, the Plains Keeper at the Indianapolis Zoo. "They're losing habitat. And actually, reticulated giraffes are only found in Ethiopia and Kenya, and I think a lot of people think giraffes are just everywhere in Africa."
Taji is 10-year-old Takasa's third calf. Her first calf was born in 2002 and lived only a few days, but her second calf, a male named Jakobi, was born in September 2005, and now resides at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa.
As the mother of three, Takasa knows what it means to have a motherly instinct. "She is a little more protective than our other mothers have been. She immediately went and stood over that baby and tried to clean it off at the same time," Laura said.
Late this week, the new calf should be visible to the public in the small giraffe transition yard, which is next to the tracks used for the Zoo train ride. If all introductions go as planned, mother and baby should be on exhibit with the rest of the giraffe herd by the end of July.
"It goes through a small learning process just for the safety. In the wild, they don't have these fences that they can bolt and run into. So we want to make sure he is ready before we put him anywhere," Laura explained.
The Zoo has six giraffes, including another baby now two months old. The new calf joins his half-brother, Elon, who was born on April 23 to Elena, who is also Takasa's mother. Takasa was sired by the Zoo's previous adult male, Ernie, while Elon was fathered by Eddie.
As part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan for reticulated giraffes, it is likely that both of the male giraffes born this year will eventually be sent to other AZA-accredited zoos. When Taji is about a year old, he will go to another zoo to maintain genetic diversity in the captive giraffe population.
The Indianapolis Zoo is known for maintaining healthy animal populations from giraffes and elepants to lemurs and tigers by using invitro fertilization. Riley Hospital for Children sponsors animal births at the Indianapolis Zoo.
