In the Zoo Baby Sweepstakes, wouldn’t it be ironic if the sloth came in first?
Over at the Abilene Zoo, it could happen. It’s definitely baby season with two giraffes, a male steenbok, and now even an ostrich born in the last month and a half.
Bahari, a male steenbok, was born April 16. The steenbok is a small antelope species from southern and eastern Africa.
Bahari with his oversized ears wowed zoo fans when pictures of him were posted to the zoo’s social media accounts this month.
“Jackalopes are real,” joked one commenter on the zoo’s Facebook page.
“Right now he’s in the back being hand-raised by the keepers, just making sure he’s okay, and that he’s healthy,” said Marlen Salazar, the Abilene Zoo marketing coordinator. “He’s going to be out on exhibit with his family, probably this week, later, or next week.”
Head and shoulders above the rest
The first giraffe was born May 4 to Congo and Pele, his mother.
“He’s doing great. He weighed 135 pounds and stood 5 foot 8 inches, which is a little small for a giraffe. Normally they’re like 6 foot or 6 foot 3,” Salazar said. “So because of that, the keepers were around the clock making sure he was okay, using cameras, and they were coming in at night checking on him.”
This was Pele’s first calf, so she was a little unsure about the situation.
Salazar said the giraffe kept asking for support from the other giraffe moms in the herd.
But how can you know that?
“Normally they separate (mother and calf), so mom and baby can have a special bonding time,” Salazar explained. “But Pele was looking at the door, kind of pushing it and wanting to be with the others.
So they let her on exhibit, and she was fine. That’s how they could tell she was looking for support.”
Another giraffe was also born May 17 to Jamie. Congo is the herd bull, so he’s the father in both cases.
“Jamie is a pro,” Salazar said. “This is her fifth calf, so she was perfect.”
The zoo posted video of Jamie birthing her calf with the baby’s brother from another mother hovering nearby.
It’s worth noting that neither baby giraffe has a name yet.
Salazar said the rights to name the May 4 calf was a prize given away in the zoo’s recent Zoobiliation gala.
Being born on Star Wars Day, perhaps that will factor into the choice but there’s no telling at this point.
Besides, other kids are stepping up and making their own debut at the zoo.
Egg-celent news
“Yesterday, we had our first ostrich born,” Salazar said on Tuesday. “We’re super excited. We have two ostriches, and they lay eggs all the time.”
But this egg they noticed had been fertilized, so the zoo hatched it. The chick is doing fine, if not still just a little worn out. It took the baby bird four hours to peck through that shell.
“I was there for two hours, just watching,” Salazar said of the baby ostrich. “They have very big feet, so she kind of pecked and kicked her feet until she cracked it open.”
In the coming weeks the zoo is expecting possibly another giraffe, in addition to hoping for a bison and the aforementioned sloth. Beyond that, there’s no telling if the lemurs might also increase their numbers soon, as well as the nearby Fossa.
“Right now, it’s like baby season,” Salazar said.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: ‘Baby Season’ hits Abilene Zoo
Reporting by Ronald W. Erdrich, Abilene Reporter-News / Abilene Reporter-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
