The newest addition to the Greater Vancouver Zoo — a female giraffe the size of a grown man — captivated visitors and handlers yesterday when she was put on display through a viewing window during her lunchtime.
Jody Henderson, a spokesperson for the zoo, said the baby — who has not been named — was more interested in watching her viewers than feeding, but had a voracious appetite at breakfast.
“She’s doing extremely well,” said Henderson, adding that her mother, Eleah, lost interest in her calf within half an hour of the birth on Sunday night.
Handlers are now bottle-feeding her.
“(Eleah) was really great for the first little while and cleaned her off,” said Henderson. “The same thing happened with the her last birth.”
The 20-year-old female giraffe gave birth to a male, Amryn, in 2007, and Henderson said staff thinks Eleah has trouble nursing.
She said the entire giraffe family, which includes father Jafari, has had access to the new baby over the fence to her pen.
“It’s always amazing and a privilege to see a baby born here at the zoo,” Henderson said.
