The wait has been excruciating for obstinate pregnant giraffe voyeurs – but finally the Greenville Zoo has welcomed its newest addition.
The baby giraffe Masai, born on Sunday afternoon, has not yet been named and its gender is not yet known.
The February 21 moment, broadcast online worldwide to thousands of zealous viewers, came two months later than expected.
That’s because zookeepers say that Mother Autumn and Father Miles had another … consummation … of which the team was not aware.
The puppy was born at 2:28 pm and 40 minutes later he was alone, city spokeswoman Beth Brotherton said in a press release.
The birth was broadcast on the webcam. Viewers can monitor the live feed to see Autumn and her new puppy interact.
The baby will suckle for nine to 12 months and start eating foliage in about two months. Born about six feet tall, baby giraffes double in size in the first year.
The birth is part of the Greenville Zoo’s participation in the breeding program sanctioned by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The “species survival plan” guarantees the genetic diversity of endangered species and involves the transfer of giraffes to different zoos to breed.
The Union for the Conservation of Nature in 2019 declared the Masai giraffe in danger of extinction, with only 35,000 existing now, half the amount of 30 years ago.
This is Autumn’s sixth pregnancy, aged 14, who came from Boston in 2007, when the Greenville Zoo created its exhibit.
At the time, she was combined with partner Walter, and in 2012 she gave birth to her first child, Kiko. In 2014, her second baby, Roho, was born dead. Her third pregnancy was successful in 2016 with the birth of Tatu.
After Tatu’s birth, a new partner, Miles, came from Houston to join Autumn and had two children, Kiden in 2018 and Kellan the following year.
Currently, only Kellan and Miles remain in Greenville.
Last November, the city of Greenville, which owns the zoo, announced that Autumn was pregnant and would give birth in mid-December.
The hour came and went – and it was a matter of some human assumptions. The parents apparently didn’t try just once, James Traverse, the zoo’s general curator, told the Post and Courier in December.
In the past, the observation is that Autumn conceived the first time she was able. A subsequent “copulation event” was probably responsible for the delay, he said.
The next task, after allowing the baby and mother to bond, will be to determine the sex and put the giraffe’s name up for public vote.
Follow Eric on Twitter at @cericconnor.