Mogo Zoo Plays Vital Role in Securing Future of Endangered Rothschild Giraffe

Mogo Zoo - january 2010

The female calf was born at approximately 2.20pm following a three-hour labour in view of the visiting public. Within half-an-hour of the birth occurring, the calf attempted its first awkward steps under her mother’s watchful eye and shortly thereafter, keepers witnessed the newborn calf suckling. Much to the relief of anxious keepers, first-time mother, Shani, has bonded extremely well with her newborn, despite her lack of rearing experience. “We are all extremely excited and relieved. Shani is displaying wonderful mothering skills, and we’re optimistic that this breeding pair will maintain an active role in the global breeding program for this species” commented keeper, Sophie Miller.

Mogo’s successful breeding pair is a subspecies known as ‘Rothschild Giraffe’ and are the secondmost endangered giraffe subspecies, with only a few hundred members remaining in the world today. Mogo Zoo’s recent birth will play a modest, however essential, role in securing the future of this endangered species.

The Rothschild Giraffe, also known as the Baringo Giraffe, inhabits protected areas in Kenya and Northern Uganda, however, this subspecies is classified as ‘endangered’ as numbers in the wild have dwindled to a mere few hundred.

The gestation period of a Rothschild Giraffe is between 400 and 460 days following which a single calf is predominately born, however, twins occasionally occur.

Some photos of 'MANZI' our new baby Rothschild Giraffe