We are celebrating the birth of a new baby giraffe. Born on the morning of Wednesday 14th May, the giraffe calf is already 6ft tall and has been named Christa after her dad, Christopher. 

Christa’s arrival has taken a long time as giraffes are pregnant for around 15 months. The keepers kept a close eye on mum, Matilda during her pregnancy and were delighted to be able to watch the new baby being born without any problems.

Head keeper for the giraffes, Ian Goodwin said: “We are thrilled that Christa is doing so well, especially as she is a lasting legacy to Christopher, who sadly passed away last year. Her mum, Matilda is being a star mum and is already forming a strong bond with Christa.”

Matilda is a very successful mum, Christa is her fifth calf. Her youngest son, Taharqa, can also be seen in the family herd at Marwell. Matilda and Christa can be seen in the giraffe house or out on the hard stand in fine weather together.

Keepers hope in the future that Matilda will breed with Kismet, Marwell’s recently arrived new male. Matilda and Kismet are pure bred Rothschild giraffes, a species of giraffe that is in danger of extinction. It is believed that there are only around 600 Rothschild giraffes left in a few protected areas in Kenya and in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda.

Matilda is eleven years old and was named after the wife of the twelfth century king Stephen. She is the daughter of Dribbles and Harry.  Dribbles lived to be the oldest giraffe in the UK and died at the estimated age of 33.   

Baby giraffes when born typically weigh 50-70 kg and are 6ft in height. Despite their towering size, giraffes have the same number of vertebrae in their necks as a human being – seven.

23rd May 2008

 

 

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