The Wilds celebrates birth of giraffe calf

Guests touring The Wilds in Muskingum County on Tuesday witnessed a rare, unforgettable sight: the birth of a Masai giraffe calf.

The male calf was born in one of the conservation center’s pastures in the late afternoon and is healthy and strong. He’s still roaming the grasslands but is staying close to his mother, 5-yearold Lulu, who was born at the Cincinnati Zoo. This is her first calf.

The calf’s father is 12-year-old Raha, born at the Los Angeles Zoo.

The pair’s breeding was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit group of more than 230 accredited members in the United States and abroad.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is expecting its own baby giraffes later this year. Two pregnant giraffes are expected to give birth: one between late August and mid-September and the other between late September and mid-October. The baby giraffes will be the zoo’s first since 1999.

Giraffes are vulnerable in their native habitats of Africa, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Their populations are declining because of multiple factors, primarily habitat loss and poaching.

A Kentucky woman, Tess Thompson Talley, was recently the focus of social media scorn after a Facebook post of her in front of a rare black giraffe bull she had slain in 2017 in South Africa was shared on Twitter by Africa Digest. Hunting a giraffe is legal in South Africa if approved by a game park. Male giraffe spots turn black as they age, and this bull was over 18 years old and weighed about 4,000 pounds.

Talley defended her actions in a statement, calling the giraffe’s slaying “conservation through game management.” A hunting advocacy group noted the giraffe provided 2,000 pounds of meat to local villagers.

To reduce threats to giraffes, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and The Wilds support several conservation projects in Africa, including the Serengeti Giraffe Project in Tanzania, the Giraffe Research and Conservation Trust in Kenya and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in Namibia and Uganda. A male Masai giraffe calf was born at The Wilds on Tuesday. His mother, 5-year-old Lulu, was born at the Cincinnati Zoo. The calf’s father is 12-year-old Raha, born at the Los Angeles Zoo.