The Los Angeles Zoo welcomed a male Masai Giraffe calf, on November 20^th. 

Photo Credits: Los Angeles Zoo

The calf was born to six-year-old mother ‘Hasina’, and 18-year-old father, ‘Artemus’. This is the second calf for Hasina, who came from the San Diego Zoo in 2010.

This is a birth the L.A. Zoo is thankful for, as the population of giraffes across the African continent is drastically declining due to hunting and habitat loss.

A Los Angeles area couple also felt a connection to the baby giraffe, and they made the decision to ‘adopt’ the baby and chose to name him ‘Leo’. In making a significant gift to the Zoo’s animal acquisition fund, which promotes vital wildlife preservation and breeding projects locally and around the world, donors Patricia and Stanley Silver chose to name the baby giraffe after Mrs. Silver’s late father, Leo Guthman.

Leo can now be seen on exhibit with the other giraffes daily, weather permitting.