COLUMBIA — The Riverbanks Zoo welcomed a new arrival Feb. 13: a baby male giraffe, whose name will be chosen through an online auction.
The three-week old giraffe is already 6 feet tall and 143 pounds, but he looks small compared with his parents, who stand 18 feet tall as adults.
Keeper Andrea Mueller said the little guy already has grown 5 inches and gained 30 pounds since birth.
She said the baby will reach a height of 10 feet in about a year and will become full-grown in five to eight years.
This is the third giraffe born at the zoo in the past year and it’s the 18th giraffe birth since the zoo opened in 1974.
“People are having a lot of success with breading giraffes in captivity. So our success is really exciting, but it’s not uncommon,” Mueller said.
Keepers said the baby is only allowed in the public exhibit on days when the temperature approaches 60 degrees.
“With the two babies that we have currently and then the third one, you can see a big size difference,” Mueller said. “I think that’s really intriguing to people, because they do grow up pretty quickly. So when you see a newborn out there it’s really exciting for everybody.”
Zoo officials say with warm weather in the forecast this weekend, visitors should have plenty of opportunity to see the new arrival.
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