Giraffe girl born at Debrecen Zoo – PHOTOS

Photo: Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park

Following successful births in November 2017 and February 2019, the Debrecen Zoo is once again happy to report on great news involving Hungary’s only reticulated giraffe family. On June 21, which happens to be World Giraffe Day, their two male calves got a little sister as 11-year-old Emma gave birth to a healthy female.

Hardly to be considered little with her birth height of well over 170 cm, she was named Zahara, a name of Swahili origin that translates to “shining” or “flower.” With her arrival, the European population of reticulated giraffes, managed under a European Endangered Species Program (EAZA EEP), is now 153 strong.

Photo: Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park

Similarly to her two older brothers, Zahara is being hand-raised by keepers who are now seasoned foster parents, thanks to the past couple years’ experience of caring for Jabari and Daahir.

The Debrecen Zoo’s littlest giant is now exhibited in the Giraffe House.

Exhibited only at the Debrecen Zoo in Hungary, reticulated giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) are now one of the rarest giraffe subspecies, found only in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya due to human activities such as poaching, habitat destruction and transformation and military conflicts. As a result, they are listed as Endangered in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.