A ‘tall order’ at the North Carolina Zoo: Leia the giraffe is expecting a baby
Around the North Carolina Zoo, the mood has turned giddy with news of a spotted miracle on the way — a fresh set of lanky legs, a new blue tongue to scarf lettuce, a sign of revival in the pitter-patter of hooves.
Leia, the zoo’s 13-year-old reticulated giraffe, is expecting a calf this spring, a much-anticipated spectacle that will make her North Carolina’s tallest mother.
It could be a lengthy procedure.
Already, the thought of another 17-foot resident has zoo fans on 24-hour giraffe watch, begging for a live-birth cam, much like celebrated giraffe April in 2017, whose pregnancy drew millions of live viewers.
Leia’s birth announcement drew more than 726 comments on Facebook in fewer than 24 hours, most of them invoking hard-to-resist giraffe jokes:
“A tall order,” wrote Peter Ungaro. “Congrats.”
This marks the first calf for Leia and partner Jack, and zoo staff warns they may sequester themselves for the anxious days ahead. As a result, the giraffe deck and its popular feeding experience may slow down until the big day.
Random wildlife fact: a group of giraffes is called a “tower,” and this little one will add to the zoo’s existing skyline of four.
The giraffe’s gestation period lasts for 15 months, plenty of time for a four-piece set of hoof booties, and produces a single calf — so don’t count on twins.
“Is there going to be a gender reveal?????” asked Brittany Lea Hutchison on the zoo Facebook page. “Blue or pink snacks or enrichments or something for them!!?”
This is not Jack’s first dad rodeo considering he fathered the zoo’s last calf, Juma, in 2012.
Still, one imagines Jack pacing around the giraffe habitat in long, loping strides — a cigarette made from acacia leaves dangling from his mouth.
Not to worry, Jack.
Though giraffes give birth while standing, and the calves exit head-first, dropping 6 feet to the ground with front legs extended in a Superman pose, the fall actually snaps the umbilical cord and encourages their first breath.
Been going on for years — an extended period of time, an elongated period and nothing, for a newborn giraffe, that’s too much of a stretch.