Mom and youngster doing fine
Toledo Zoo welcomes baby giraffe
7/26/2011
This photo released from the Toledo Zoo shows a baby giraffe born Saturday.
A baby giraffe was born over the weekend at the Toledo Zoo.
The yet-unnamed calf stood nearly six feet tall and weighed about 160 pounds at birth, the zoo said in a statement released Tuesday.
The birth occurred Saturday after a 15-month pregnancy. Both the baby and its mother, a giraffe named Elvira, are doing well, the zoo said.
The zoo said neither will be on exhibit until its veterinarians deem them ready.
The two giraffes, as well as the baby's father, Mowgli, and its brother, Enzi, are Masai giraffes, Earth's tallest animal species. When full grown, they stand 16 to 18 feet tall and can run up to 35 mph, the zoo said.
The baby's mother came to Toledo from the Cleveland Zoo in 2004, three years after its father came from the Toronto Zoo in 2001.