For about 15 months, a small giraffe grows up in her mother's belly. When the time finally comes, the giraffe cow gives birth to its not so small offspring standing up. Now, almost just in time for World Giraffe Day on June 21, a small female giraffe has been born in Tierpark Berlin. Mother Amalka (8) and young animal are well and can already be seen in the giraffe house.

With a size of about 1.80 m and an estimated birth weight of 60 kg, the giraffe born on June 16 is not only a small peculiarity in terms of dimensions, because newly born giraffes can stand on their own feet almost immediately after birth. The offspring of giraffe cow Amalka also staggered – still somewhat awkwardly – behind and at times even under his mother through the stable. "It is always a special event when a young animal sees the light of day with us. Especially as a former zoo veterinarian, I know that you can hardly provide obstetrics for giraffes. Here it depends especially on the mother and her natural instincts. I am all the more pleased that Amalka masters this task so excellently with her third offspring," explains Zoo and Zoo Director Dr. Andreas Knieriem. Visually, the small giraffe cow only lacks the distinctive horns, which are already present in the womb of giraffes, but only set up in the first week of life. "You can practically watch small giraffes grow: In the first few weeks, they develop rapidly and grow up to three centimeters per day," adds Knieriem. Mother Amalka and her calf spend the first few days in togetherness and will only join the herd after getting to know each other. For the zoo guests, however, the two can already be seen from 21 June in the giraffe house in the zoo.

For giraffe mother Amalka, it is already the third offspring. Just a few days ago, her last calf Henry left Tierpark Berlin at the age of two to meet a new herd in a French zoo. In a few days, the recently born giraffe cow will also meet the rest of the herd and venture the first trip to the grounds. Even in the natural habitat, giraffe mothers give birth to their young away from the herd. As is typical for giraffes, father Jabulani (10 years old) is not involved in the rearing of the young animal. In addition to Amalka, Jabulani and the still nameless offspring, four other giraffes currently live in tierpark Berlin.

The birth of the calf on World Giraffe Day is special news. In the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), giraffes have been listed as "endangered" in their entire population for several years. For the Rothschild giraffe – one of nine giraffe subspecies – this means that only about 2000 animals of this subspecies move through the savannah in the natural habitat. "The situation for giraffes is worrying overall. We work closely with our partner from the Wild Nature Institute in Tanzania to protect the graceful mammals on site," explains mammal curator and giraffe expert Dr. Florian Sicks. "In addition to our scientific cooperation, we are currently financing part of the field research in Tarangire National Park," adds Sicks. The scientists of the Wild Nature Institute in Tanzania are researching the giraffes living there in order to be able to recommend effective measures for giraffe protection. In addition, they conduct environmental education in order to awaken a fascination for the largest land mammal in the world, especially among school children.

©Tierpark Berlin