Dublin Zoo announces birth of Rothschild giraffe

Dublin Zoo has announced the birth of its newest resident after a male Rothschild giraffe came into the world on Sunday, October 25th.

The calf stands at 1.5m tall and weighs an estimated 45kg.

He made his first outside appearance in the African Savanna at the zoo last week. He joins a herd of eight giraffes at the zoo.

Team leader at Dublin Zoo, Helen Clarke-Bennett said: “The calf was born in the giraffe house with the other female members of the herd present. The team watched the birth unfold on our closed circuit cameras.

“The birth took over an hour and we noticed that the herd was very attentive each step of the way. We’re very excited about this addition to the Dublin Zoo herd.”

The Rothschild giraffe is one of the most threatened of the nine sub-species of giraffe. Rothschild male giraffes grow to six metres in height and can weigh more than 2,000kg. Fewer than 670 remain in the wild according to the Rothschild Giraffe Project and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.