Surprise newborn giraffe dies in zoo
A BABY giraffe, who was born after Dublin Zoo workers failed to notice its mother was pregnant, lost her fight for life last night.
One of the elderly giraffes at the zoo, Hailey, went into labour before startled visitors' eyes on Saturday. It also came as a major surprise for staff who hadn't realised she was pregnant.
Unfortunately, as Hailey gave birth at 11pm on Saturday night, following seven hours of labour, they discovered the little female calf was severely underweight.
Staff and experts from the veterinary college had worked around the clock in a bid to save the tiny female calf, who weighed in at 32kg, far lower than the average weight of a newborn giraffe calf of up to 80kg. Late yesterday afternoon, the small calf died.
Upset
Eagle-eyed callers to Today FM's Ray D'Arcy show revealed they had alerted a zookeeper, after they spotted the giraffe in labour.
Dublin Zoo director Leo Oosterweghel said staff were "very upset". He said there were a number of factors behind the calf's death, including its small size, the lengthy labour and that the mother, Hailey, was elderly for a giraffe at almost 16 years.
The pregnancy was not spotted as the older female's fertility cycle was irregular, and there was no "tell-tale bulge" and her udders had not swelled as they usually should.
Mr Oosterweghel said "it wouldn't have made a difference if staff had been aware of the pregnancy as the equipment was always prepared. There were simply too many difficulties in this case.''
Over 900,000 people visited Dublin Zoo last year, the highest number in its 176-year history. The zoo also made history last year with the birth of a baby elephant Asha, the country's first Irish-born elephant.
A baby male giraffe, named Seanin, was also born at the zoo last year.
- Louise Hogan
