Image: Zoo Schmiding/ Peter Sterns
Cheering at Schmiding Zoo in Krenglbach: On Thursday, giraffe cow Samira gave birth to her cub, her sixth baby. The newborn is fit and healthy and drinks well from its mum. “He’s a bright young bull who did a little gallop in the giraffe barn in his first hours of life. He seems happy, so we decided to call him Ayo, ‘the happy one’,” says animal keeper Selina Wiener.
fall into life
District manager Daniela Eder is also happy about the successful birth of the giraffe: “Samira behaves, as we are used to from her, in an exemplary manner in her role as a mother. She licked her calf dry immediately after the birth without any complications and has always been by his side ever since.” The giraffe cow was pregnant for 15 months, and Samira showed the first signs of an imminent birth early on. Then it took a good three weeks until it actually happened.
Because giraffe mothers give birth standing up, the newborn fell two meters at birth. “It may sound high, but it is not a problem for the animals. The young animals do not injure themselves because their bones are still quite soft,” say the experts. The animal keepers have carefully covered the stall with a thick layer of straw to cushion the fall.
Little Ayo’s father is Noel. The 15-year-old bull came to Schmiding in 2010 from Dvur Kralove Zoo in the Czech Republic. The dad behaves very lovingly to his offspring. “Curiously, he sniffs at the young animal, lovingly licks his head and stretches his long neck over the partition to be as close as possible to mom and baby.”
Also visible to visitors
Mother and son will keep to themselves for the next few days to build a good bond. “Depending on the situation, the young animal will gradually be brought together with the other herd members over the next few days,” explains Eder.
Zoo visitors can now see the young animal, by the hour under the supervision of an animal keeper. “If we notice that mother and child have received enough attention, let’s give them some parental leave again so that Ayo can drink well and sleep as usual for babies.”
Source: Nachrichten
