This was a happy week for Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens after two giraffe calves were born. Right now the zoo workers are celebrating the birth of the second one, a female calf that was not named yet.
The calf was born this Friday afternoon, and everything happened in front of the visitors. The giraffe gave birth in the viewing yard of the exhibit, which means that everyone was able to witness the first moments of the most recent Jacksonville Zoo member.
The parents of the calf are named Luna and Duke, and the father has 17 other calves, while the mother has other three. It appears that the zoo is very lucky when it comes to giraffes, since this calf is the 41st one that is born at the zoo.
The birth of the calf
Luna is a mother with experience, so the keepers allowed her to stay with the herd despite the fact that she was near the end of her pregnancy. They kept an eye on her, and they called the herd away so that she was able to give birth in peace.
Luna was joined by Spock, another female that never had any calves of her own. Spock turned out to be a great help and she even helped Luna to clean her baby calf. It is not the first time when Spock does something similar.
Within 30 minutes, the calf was already able to stand on her own, and she stays on exhibit with her mother Luna. The other calf born on Sunday, as well as his mother Naomi and Spock. After they become more comfortable, the calves are supposed to meet with the rest of the herd. However, this will only happen if the calves are ready for it and their mothers accept it.
