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Cute baby pictures: Giraffe born Monday at S.F. Zoo

10:01 AM Wed, Jan 28, 2009 |
By Sheila Lennon    Email this author |   Email this entry

giraffe.jpg

giraffe2.jpgSF Zoo Welcomes Four Foot Baby. NBC.

The San Francisco Zoo announced the birth of a reticulated giraffe calf on Monday morning. Bititi (pronounced Bah-Tē-Tē), the proud mom, gave birth between 5 and 7:00 a.m. and is showing strong maternal skills.

Keepers have been observing mom and calf around the clock, but have not intervened or stepped close enough to determine whether it's a male or female...

The "reticulated" giraffe is one of nine sub species (Wikipedia):

Reticulated or Somali Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) -- large, polygonal liver-coloured spots outlined by a network of bright white lines. The blocks may sometimes appear deep red and may also cover the legs. Range: northeastern Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia.

From The Big Zoo,

Males reach a towering 19 feet tall and weigh between 2400 and 4250 pounds. Females measure up to 17 feet tall and weigh between 1540 and 2600 pounds. A lot of this height and weight is because of the giraffe's incredibly long neck, which can be 8 feet in length and can weigh almost 500 pounds.

...the Romans called the giraffe "camelopardalis," meaning "camel marked like a leopard." These spots are unique to each giraffe, much like fingerprints are unique to each human. In fact, people who study many giraffes can distinguish between the different giraffes just by looking at their spots. Another unique feature of the giraffe is its unusually long tongue. This pink and black tongue can be 22 inches long and is used to grab food from the trees....


More photos at the top link.

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2 Comments

Alexandria Brown said:

this is adorable

Link | March 24, 2009 7:11 PM
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Kathryn Jones :) said:

I love giraffes and seeing this makes me love them even more!

Link | March 27, 2009 2:53 PM
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