The Maryland Zoo said their newest addition, a baby giraffe, is getting some extra attention after his birth on Thursday, June 15.
Zookeepers are watching the calf closely after they noticed he wasn’t actively nursing after his birth early Thursday morning. On Friday, they began to supplement his feeding with a special formula to make sure he gets the necessary antibodies normally present in mother’s milk.
“We are cautiously optimistic that his natural instinct to nurse will take over, but we are prepared to supplement his nutritional needs until that happens,” said Erin Cantwell, the mammal collection and conservation manager at the zoo. “Despite the calf’s lack of nursing ability, Kesi is proving to be an amazing mother. She is very attentive and protective of him as well.”
Kesi, the mother, and the calf are inside the zoo’s Giraffe House and not yet viewable to the public. Kesi came to Baltimore in 2012, and the father, Caesar, has been at the zoo since 2008.
