Baby giraffe born at Milwaukee County Zoo

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – The Milwaukee County Zoo celebrated the birth of a male giraffe on Saturday, September 2. The baby boy was born to mom Ziggy, and dad, Bahatika. This is Ziggy’s second calf. 

Zoo veterinarians have completed the calf’s first exam, and recorded a weight of about 152 pounds, and a height of approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall. Zookeepers and medical staff have been monitoring mother and baby and say the baby is nursing regularly and Ziggy appears to be an attentive mother.

Ziggy is 7-years-old, and arrived at the Milwaukee County Zoo in 2013 from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Bahatika is 12-years-old, and arrived at the Zoo in 2006 from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado.    

Athough not threatened by extinction, the wild giraffe population is less than 80,000 and decreasing; but exact numbers are uncertain.

Regular hours for the Zoo's indoor Giraffe Exhibit will most likely resume Friday if Ziggy and the calf continue to be comfortable with visitors.