First-Time Mom Drops a 108-Pound Giraffe

This week Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo announced the arrival of its newest resident, a five-foot-seven, 108-pound female giraffe. Her mother is 8-year-old Zola, the father is Jawara, 14.

The new arrival is healthy but the zoo’s veterinary teams are providing around-the-clock care for the calf, because Zola “did not show the expected level of maternal care toward her calf despite a normal delivery,” according to the zoo’s press release. The staff prepares for scenarios like this, especially with a first-time mom like Zola.

“Our team spends months preparing for animal births and for as many different outcomes as imaginable,” said Dr. Taylor Yaw, the zoo’s director of animal health. “In this case, as we monitored mom and calf after the birth, we were able to make the decision to intervene. We provided nutrition and medical care to the calf, which included a plasma transfusion from father Jawara’s previously banked plasma. Our team is working to transition the calf to a bottle.”

The plasma will boost the calf’s immune system. The zoo vets have worked with Jawara for years to train him for “voluntary blood draws” for situations like this. The Omaha zoo contributes to a national plasma bank to help giraffes elsewhere. Last year Jawara’s plasma was used to successfully treat a calf at the Lincoln’s Children’s Zoo.

Zola is reportedly doing well and bonding with her daughter. The zoo will keep the giraffe exhibit “intermittently closed to the public to allow for the care and some quiet time for the calf.”

Welcome to Earth, unnamed giraffe calf!

 Photo credit: Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium