NORFOLK, Va. — It's a boy! The Virginia Zoo welcomed a 159-pound, 5'9" newborn Masai giraffe on Tuesday. He was due to be born in the new year, but the baby had other plans.
This is Noelle's third calf to be born at the zoo, and for the baby's father, Billy, it's baby number 14.
The baby is a little stumbly on his new legs, but there's a video of him practicing walking on the Virginia Zoo Facebook page.
"Mom and baby are bonding, and the calf is nursing well," wrote Ashley Mars, marketing manager for the zoo. "He appears strong and is already learning to run!"
You can visit the calf in the night barn near the zoo's Africa-Okavango boardwalk.
The little guy doesn't have a name yet, but Mars said there would be a naming contest for him announced on Facebook soon.
The male calf is the sixth in the Virginia Zoo's giraffe herd. However, two giraffes (Kylie and Tiana) will be transferred to a zoo in Florida soon.
Masai giraffes are endangered because of habitat loss and poaching, Mars said.
Zookeepers chose Noelle and Billy to mate for this calf by working with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan.
