A Love-ly cause for International Day of Charity

It’s International Day of Charity and we’re inviting supporters to show their love by donating a gift towards our newest arrival’s care.

Our two-week-old giraffe calf is fast approaching six foot tall and was born to mother, Ruby and Father, Mburo, on Wednesday 21 August. Despite a difficult start both mother and baby are now doing well and have been getting used to guests visiting them in the giraffe house over the last week.

Keepers have been keeping a close eye on Ruby since they first noticed she was gaining weight and exhibiting behaviours that suggested she might be expecting last year.

Female giraffes give birth standing up, which means newborn calves start their lives with a 2-metre drop. Calves are typically born front legs first, followed by the body and then the rear legs last. Falling to the ground helps stimulate the calf to take its first breaths, much like when doctors or midwives rub newborn babies to encourage them to breathe for the first time.

Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months before giving birth and a newborn calf weigh between 7.5 and 11 stone! When they’re born giraffe’s horns, which are called ossicones, lie flat and aren’t attached to their skulls which protects them from getting damaged during birth. Once the baby is born they gradually pop up into the upright position we’re more familiar with and later harden into bone and fuse to the skull.

The tightly guarded secret of Ruby’s pregnancy was announced last week following the birth and some time for the pair to bond and establish feeding.

Father Mburo is currently separated from Ruby, Christa and the calf whilst the infant gets used to his new surroundings. All four giraffe will then be reunited as a family group. Mburo, arrived at the zoo in 2022 and quickly became a favourite with guests thanks to the distinctive love heart shape on his left cheek. His calf looks set to be equally “Lovely” sporting a heart shaped mark on his neck although as he grows his markings may change. Ruby won’t be left out either as she has a heart on the righthand side of her chest.

Our keepers would love to be able to buy some new weighing scales for the giraffe, plant more browse and invest in some new equipment to help care for the giraffe. If you’d like to help them you can donate a gift to the Marwell herd at www.justgiving.com/campaign/giraffe-calf.

Did you know?

• Every giraffe can be identified by the pattern on its coat, which is completely unique, much like a human fingerprint.
• Fully grown giraffe can reach 5.7m tall and they have great eyesight allowing them to spot predators approaching in the distance.
• Giraffes have prehensile tongues that grow to around 45-50cm long. They can wrap their tongue around their food and rip it from the trees.
• It takes three to five years for giraffes’ ossicones to fully form and fuse to the skull.  In the wild, male giraffes fight off competition using their ossicones.