13 September 2007
VIENNA - A so-called Rothschild giraffe, an endangered sub-species of the ruminant mammal, has given birth to a calf in the Schoenbrunn zoo here, the zoo announced today.
Weighing an estimated 70 kilograms and already topping 1.90 metres in height, the calf, named Akasha, was born at midday yesterday, the zoo said in a statement.
Akasha was "naturally very wobbly on his feet to start with and fell into the muddy ground when he tottered outside. But the baby giraffe had a comfortable first night and was up and around this morning," the zoo said in a statement.
The Rothschild giraffe is one of the most endangered of the nine different sub-species of giraffe and there are only around 500 animals living in the wild in eastern Africa.
The Rothschild giraffe can grow as tall as six metres and weigh as much as 1,900 kilograms and has a life expectancy of around 25 years.
Akasha’s mother, Carla, was also born in captivity in the Dvur Kralove zoo in the Czech Republic.
Vienna’s Schoenbrunn zoo is Europe’s oldest and has had giraffes since 1828.
It announced the birth of a baby panda in August, the first in Europe to be conceived naturally while in captivity.
AFP
