Toronto Zoo welcomes baby giraffe, after father died last month

A female calf was born at the Toronto Zoo, standing up within 30 minutes and measuring over six feet tall.

The Toronto Zoo is welcoming their newest addition — a Masai giraffe that was born on Sunday.

The female calf was born at 1:26 a.m. and was already standing less than 30 minutes later.

“Both Mom and baby have been doing well and were left to bond over the weekend,” a release from the zoo said.

The zoo’s newest addition, who currently doesn’t have a name, stands at 1.95 metres (6 foot 4 inches). Her arrival is especially sentimental as her father, Kiko, died on Jan. 2 from a cardiac failure linked with acute muscle exertion.

The incident happened after the 13-year-old giraffe’s head became trapped in a small gap between the slide/shift door and a vertical post as the door was opening.

The zoo said that male giraffes have “little to no direct role in raising their calves,” as those tasks are almost entirely the responsibility of the mother and, at times, other females in a group setting.

Masai giraffes’ conservation status was raised to endangered in 2018, by the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN). Less than 35,000 of the creatures live in the wild and they have experienced a 50 per cent decline in the past 30 years. Their main threat is illegal hunting and habitat loss.