Baby giraffe takes first steps after being born

By Douglas Whitbread via SWNS

Heartwarming footage captures the moment an endangered baby giraffe was born at a zoo.

The newcomer arrived on Tuesday, March 12, with video later showing mom Orla giving the newborn calf a loving lick on the head.

The clip revealed how the adorable baby Rothschild’s giraffe, which number just 2,500 in the wild, fell from a height of 6ft (1.8m) onto soft straw when it was born.

The cute youngster was then seen stumbling to its feet and suckling from its mother for the first time - all within 30 minutes of its arrival.

Orla’s pregnancy had lasted 472 days and her labour went on for over three hours before the calf finally came along.

Zookeepers are yet to determine if the two-day-old baby is male or female, but it already weighs more than 70kg and stands at 6ft (1.8m) tall.

It is expected to reach more than 18ft (5.4m) high in the future and weigh around 1,000kg (157st).

Rosie Owen, from Chester Zoo, said: “Giraffes give birth standing up and so they really do enter world in dramatic fashion.

“Orla’s calf landed with quite a bump when it fell around six feet onto the floor, but this is totally normal and is actually really important part of the birth process – with the impact from the fall stimulating the calf and encouraging it to take its very first breath.