The little male was born to mother, Kitoto at 3:04pm yesterday afternoon. Both mum and bub are doing well and are bonding behind the scenes in the giraffe nursery.

Mum was seen licking and grooming her new calf and he was up standing and testing his wobbly legs after just 20 minutes. In another great sign, the calf was suckling and feeding from mum within the first hour after birth.

This is the second calf born to Kitoto and our bull, Armani as part of a coordinated effort by Australian zoos to breed these majestic creatures to help fight extinction. Giraffe numbers in the wild have plummeted to fewer than 80,000, making our efforts vitally important.

For the next few weeks the giraffe herd will be spending time bonding with their adorable infant, who stands at approximately 160 centimetres in height. We ask for your patience during these early days -  they may not be as visible as normal, because like any family, the arrival of a newborn is a big deal and they’ll need some quiet time.

We’ll let you know when the calf starts exploring the big wide world, but in the meantime, we will be sharing lots of exclusive updates on the Zoo’s social media accounts, so make sure you follow us on Instagram and Facebook!