BROWNSVILLE — The Gladys Porter Zoo needs the community’s help in naming the newest addition to its giraffe family.
Ann the giraffe gave birth to a male April 27. Since Ann is a first-time mom, she rejected the baby, which GPZ Curator of Mammals Walter Dupree said isn’t unusual for first-time mothers to do.
A female giraffe’s pregnancy is 15 months long.
“By rejecting, it doesn’t mean she was violent with him, she just did not feed it. She was uncomfortable with him. We did not see her nursing,” Dupree said.
GPZ staff separated the baby giraffe to feed him and take care of him for the first four months.
“He was a little small. A normal giraffe would be 140 to 150 pounds and about 6 feet tall, and he was about 5 feet, 7 inches and about 114 pounds,” Dupree said.
Dupree said that once the baby started to eat less, he was able to join the other giraffes.
“He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do. If you watch, he’s walking around with the herd, he gets along well with everybody,” Dupree said.
Since joining the rest of the herd, Ann has not formed a bond with her baby.
“He doesn’t recognize his mother, and his mother doesn’t show attention to him,” Dupree said. “She’s been away (from him) so long she wouldn’t know. What they do is they bond by smells and sounds, especially by smell when they’re first born. She didn’t go ahead and bond with him.”
Now at 6 months old, the baby still doesn’t have an official name. The zoo is asking the public to help select a name for this little giraffe.
Visit the Gladys Porter Zoo website at www.gpz.org.
Name options are Jabari, Hasani Zane, Khari, Al G., Casey and J.C. Voting ends 5 p.m. Dec. 6.
