‘It’s a baby boom!’ Santa Barbara Zoo announces two new giraffe pregnancies
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Two more newborns are coming to the Santa Barbara Zoo next year!
The Zoo's Animal Care and Health team confirmed Friday that two of its endangered Masai giraffes are pregnant.
7-year-old Adia is due to give birth in January 2022 and 13-year-old Audrey is due July 2022.
Both giraffe babies were fathered by Michael, the zoo's adult male Masai giraffe who just celebrated his 15th birthday on Wednesday.
This will be Adia's second calf; her first calf Twiga was also fathered by Michael and was born in March 2020.
Audrey will be giving birth to her seventh calf. Four of Audrey's calves have been fathered by Michael, with her most recent calf, named Amirah, being born in March 2018. Amirah has since been moved to the Sacramento Zoo.
The zoo said the gestation period for a giraffe is about 15 months, and pregnancies are confirmed through hormone analysis of fecal samples.
“We’re excited to welcome another Masai giraffe to our herd and continue to contribute to the population of this endangered species,” said Dr. Julie Barnes, the Zoo’s Vice President of Animal Care & Health. “This is a great example of the critical work done at the Santa Barbara Zoo with our incredible animal care team.”
With the addition of these two new calves next year, a total of 10 Masai giraffes will have successfully been born at the Santa Barbara Zoo since 2013—nine of these calves being sired by Michael.
The zoo said Michael is considered the most genetically important male Masai giraffe in North America.
He was brought to the SB Zoo from Canada in December 2011. Eight of his nine calves have since moved to other accredited zoos as part of a cooperative breeding program among accredited members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Michael is also a grandpa, as two of his sons have also had offspring.
Audrey arrived at the Santa Barbara Zoo in 2010 from the Los Angeles Zoo, and Adia arrived in 2017 from the Cleveland Zoo.
The giraffes at the SB Zoo are among more than 120 Masai giraffes that live at 28 North American zoos accredited by the AZA.
To support the growing family of giraffes, you can become a Foster Feeder sponsor of the giraffe herd. The zoo said a donation of $50 or more helps with the cost of feeding the giraffes, young and old. For more information and to become a Foster Feeder, click here.
For more information about the Santa Barbara Zoo and to make reservations to visit, go to www.sbzoo.org.
