DIANE BELL

FROM B1

well. Health specialists are closely monitoring Indah and her newborn.

“We will continue to stay vigilant and, at the same time, remain hopeful,” noted Meg Sutherland-Smith, the alliance’s head of veterinary services, in the birth announcement.

Meanwhile, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, a giraffe calf was born Jan. 17, making it the first giraffe born there in 2022.

“This birth is extra special,” stated the S.D. Zoo Wildlife Alliance announcement, “as the newborn shares its birthday with an extraordinary individual — Betty White — who would have turned 100 today.”

The actress, who died Dec. 31 at age 99, had a huge soft spot for animals. She worked with numerous animal conservation groups over the years, including the S.D. Zoo Wildlife Alliance. The cover of her 2012 book, “Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo,” pictures her with a giraffe.

The Safari Park giraffe was the first baby delivered by mom, Zindzhi, and was reported to be walking and nursing normally.

Research indicates the world’s giraffe population has decreased by more than 40 percent over the past two decades. The graceful animals number fewer than 100,000 in the wild today.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Humane Society honored Betty White’s legacy by waiving adoption fees for a week, from Jan. 11 until her birthday. It was the shelter’s version of the national Betty White Challenge.

“Our main goal was to find homes for animals as the best way to honor her legacy,” says spokeswoman Nina Thompson. During that week, 253 adult animals (131 dogs, 77 cats and 45 rabbits, guinea pigs and other small animals) found homes. That certainly would have made the actress happy.

One adoptee was a 7-yearold cocker spaniel mix selected by an Escondido mom and her son Jan. 12. They informed the staff that they are naming the dog “Betty” because their last name is White — so the dog will be Betty White.

The shelter also set up an online donation site: sdhumane.org/betty. About 1,900 donations have been received so far, totaling more than $66,000 — about $60,000 of that came in on Jan. 17, which would have been White’s 100th birthday.

The national movement to donate to animal care shelters in Betty White’s memory, #BettyWhiteChallenge, blew up on social media, benefiting many animal welfare nonprofits.

“It was really overwhelming,” says Jessica Gercke, communications director of the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. “We had no idea how many donations would come in. People donated online, via social media and walked in with checks and cash.

“The center took in over $34,000 that one day,” she said, referring to Jan. 17. “It really is a testimony to how beloved Betty White is and was. She made a tremendous impact on the world, and I know she must be looking down smiling.”

In 1989, White had helped Helen Woodward staff create a public service announcement. In 1994, she became the first recipient of the center’s Humane Award.

Seven years ago, the facility partnered with White on an NBC special called “Best in Shelter,” with Jill Rappaport, in which White helped promote adoption of older pets. The center named a group of senior adoptable dogs after TV’s “Golden Girls.”

On the special, White was supposed to select a “best senior pet” title holder. “In typical Betty White fashion, she named them all the winners,” Gercke says.

The center has received so many inquiries from people wanting to donate on behalf of the actress that a donation page was created in her memory: https://my.animalcenter.org/give/384768/#!/donation/checkout

Despite arriving on White’s birthday, the Safari Park’s newborn giraffe hasn’t been named yet. However, it likely won’t be named after her because it is a male.