Baby Masai giraffe born at Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo announced the birth of an endangered Masai giraffe Friday.
The baby giraffe was born at 9 a.m. on Thursday, stood up for the first time within an hour and a half of birth and is in healthy shape, the zoo says.
The mother of the giraffe, who carried the baby for 16 months, is also healthy.
The baby does not yet have a name, and the gender remains unknown. The zoo said its Giraffe House will remain closed to the public, but that an announcement will be made when he or she is "ready to make their public debut."
Masai giraffes were marked as endangered in December 2018 due to illegal hunting and habitat loss in the wild. Masai giraffes are found in the southern half of Kenya and Tanzania
Fewer than 35,000 Masai giraffes survive in the wild today, having experienced more than a 50 per cent decline in the past 30 years.
The new calf is the second baby of giraffe mother Mstari and father Kiko. Their first child, Amani, is now 22 months old, the zoo said in a news release on Friday.
“We have watched Mstari become an amazing mother to her first calf, Amani, over the last two years and we are thrilled to welcome a second calf to our growing Masai giraffe family,” Toronto Zoo CEO Dolf DeJong said.
“This birth is an important contribution to a genetically healthy Masai giraffe population, which is under increasing pressure in the wild due to habitat loss and illegal hunting.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
Airbnb's Icons allow you to drift off in the 'Up' house or rest in Prince's 'Purple Rain' mansion
The vacation destination rental company announced a new category of 'Icons,' a collection of 'extraordinary experiences hosted by the greatest names in music, film, television, art, sports, and more.'
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Goring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.