The primiparous mother Fleur has so far been reluctant to let her offspring drink. “The birth went quickly and without complications, which is anything but a matter of course. Unfortunately, Fleur still keeps her young animal at a distance and only nurses it very irregularly,” says department head Eveline Dungl.
For Fleur, the young is the first offspring. “Unfortunately, inexperienced mothers often find themselves overwhelmed with rearing in the wild. Especially with first-time mothers, there is unfortunately never a guarantee that everything will go well from the beginning,” said Dungl in a broadcast on Wednesday. The still unnamed cub was around 1.70 meters tall at birth.
Natural rearing
The primary goal at Schönbrunn Zoo is to enable the animals to be reared naturally by their parents. Since Sunday, the herd of giraffes has been observed by the team around the clock and their behavior analyzed. Zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck: “After intensive consultations with all our experts, we decided to leave the young animal in the social group of the herd and to feed it. Of course, certain risks cannot be ruled out. As long as the young animal is not yet regularly with the herd mother can drink, however, this is the most promising solution.”
“Lots of rest and time”
The last giraffe offspring in the Tiergarten was almost ten years ago. The giraffe park was then renovated and reopened in 2017 with the reticulated giraffes Fleur and Sofie. In 2019, Obi, the cub’s father, moved in. “It is important now to give the young, inexperienced herd a lot of rest and time. The animals should get used to the new situation and be able to make this important experience together. That’s why the giraffe park will remain closed until further notice,” the broadcast said.
Offspring also in forging
There were also young giraffes in Upper Austria a few days ago: Nuka saw the light of day in Zoo Schmieding. The young animal, which is only a few days old, is doing well, it was said from Krenglbach. Adorable first images can be seen in this gallery:
View picture gallery
Source: Nachrichten
