Welcome little one!
Mountainlands is celebrating a joyous milestone: the birth of its very first giraffe calf! The giraffes that were introduced to the reserve last year have officially expanded their family, with one cow giving birth early this morning.
A few months ago, we detected signs of pregnancy in one of the females and it was just a question of time. Giraffes have a remarkably long gestation period—lasting up to 15 months. As is typical for giraffes, the cow gave birth while standing, and the newborn calf experienced its first dramatic moment of life by plummeting nearly 1.8 meters (6 feet) to the ground. This fall serves a biological purpose: it breaks the umbilical cord and triggers the calf’s first breaths.
At birth, the calf stood approximately 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall and weighed around 68 kilograms (150 pounds). Within hours, it was up on its legs and already testing its ability to walk and run—an essential survival skill in the wild. The small horns, known as ossicones, lie flat against the calf’s head while it’s still inside the mother. After birth, it takes a few hours for them to begin standing upright. This morning, this particular calf’s ossicones were still noticeably flat. While it will depend on its mother’s milk for nourishment over the next 9 to 12 months, the young giraffe will begin nibbling on leaves as early as 4 months. Weaning generally occurs around the one-year mark.
This birth marks a significant step forward in Mountainlands’ conservation efforts and symbolizes hope for the continued growth and stability of the giraffe population in the area.
