CINCINNATI -- A giraffe delivered a calf at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden early Tuesday, the second giraffe birth at the zoo in less than two months.
Five-year-old giraffe Jambo gave birth at 1:45 a.m. after about two hours of labor, the zoo announced. The giraffe stood and nursed within an hour of birth.
"Mom stood rock solid for nursing all night, which is exactly the behavior you hope to see," Christina Gorsuch, curator of mammals at the zoo, said.
Vets will exam the calf Wednesday, and could be out in view of visitors by the weekend if all is well, the zoo announced.
Cece, another giraffe, also gave birth to a calf, Cora, this summer. The new calf marks the 15th born in Cincinnati since 1889.
Jambo came to the Cincinnati Zoo from Louisville in 2013 on a breeding recommendation rom the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The father, Kimba, came to Cincinnati in 2008 from a zoo in Rhode Island. In addition to the new calf with Jambo, he has sired the one calf with Cece and another three with a giraffe named Tessa.
"Jambo must have been paying attention when Cece gave birth in July," Zoo Director Thane Maynard said. "First-time moms don't always know what to do with their babies, but Jambo has been watching Cece and Cora and seems at ease around her calf."
