Toronto Zoo just welcomed a baby giraffe and it's too adorable to even process
The Toronto Zoo got an unbelievably adorable addition on Thursday morning when Masai giraffe Mstari and her mate Kiko welcomed their second calf into the world, the zoo sharing photos and videos of the baby's first moments that are bordering on cute overload.
The calf was born Thursday at 9 a.m., with both Mstari and the yet-to-be-named baby both reportedly doing well. A tweet shared by the zoo early Friday morning was the first glimpse the public got of the new knobby-kneed addition, an endangered species native to sub-Saharan Africa.
Conceived at the beginning of November 2020, Mstari's 15-month-pregnancy (Masai giraffes have a gestation period ranging from 13 to 16 months) was worth the wait, giving people doom scrolling Twitter on Friday a much-needed reason to smile.
#LittleLongLegs has arrived 🍼🦒
— The Toronto Zoo (@TheTorontoZoo) February 25, 2022
Mstari gave birth to a healthy Masai giraffe calf at 9:00am on Thursday, February 24! Both mom and calf are doing well.
WATCH her and mom Mstari: https://t.co/QC9AH1Bz3i pic.twitter.com/H2poxQjK5k
Within just an hour of being born, the calf (whose gender has yet to be determined) was already walking on its own, as mother Mstari groomed and doted on the newborn.
The calf stood for the first time within an hour and a half after being born and has been seen nursing. We do not know the gender yet but will find out soon during the calf’s first check-up with our Veterinary team 🦒
— The Toronto Zoo (@TheTorontoZoo) February 25, 2022
FULL VIDEO: https://t.co/nlDwTMBzF1 pic.twitter.com/CYfdpn9O2t
It's not Mstari's first adorable little giraffe baby, the gentle giant giving birth to her first calf in May 2020, and melting our collective hearts at a time when the city needed a positive headline. And it seems Mstari has our back yet again, delivering her second calf, and with it, a happy reprieve from the flood of heartbreaking social media posts emerging out of Ukraine.
This is so much the content I needed this morning. ❤️ Welcome to the world, little one! ❤️🦒
— 🏒🥅 Paula🏒 🥅 (@PaulaJR34) February 25, 2022
Many people are welcoming this eye bleaching post on Twitter, with one saying "Sorry to interrupt your doom scroll but a new baby 🦒has arrived in Toronto!," and another commenting, "So much horrific news in the world, so here's a baby giraffe."
Like the new calf's older sibling, who was initially known as Baby Long Legs before a naming contest settled on Amani, which means "peace" in Swahili, the new baby is being tentatively referred to as Little Long Legs before a more appropriate name is selected.
Even with this cute new addition, Masai giraffes are still an endangered species, with fewer than 35,000 left in the wild after suffering a population decline of over 50 per cent in the last three decades.
Toronto Zoo
