Two Masai giraffes at the Santa Barbara Zoo are pregnant.
The zoo says Adia, age 7, is due to give birth in January and Audrey, 13, in July.
This will be Adia’s second calf. She gave birth to Twiga in March 2020. It will be the seventh calf for Audrey, who last gave birth in March 2018 to Amirah, who is now at the Sacramento Zoo.
The Santa Barbara Zoo’s adult made giraffe, Michael, age 15, has sired nine of the 10 Masai giraffes born at the zoo since 2013.
Zoo staff say Michael is the most genetically important male Masai giraffe in North America being only related to his offspring.
“We’re excited to welcome another Masai giraffe to our herd and continue to contribute to the population of this endangered species,” said Dr. Julie Barnes, the zoo’s vice president of animal care & health. “This is a great example of the critical work done at the Santa Barbara Zoo with our incredible animal care team.”
A giraffe’s gestation period is about 15 months.
