An endangered Masai baby giraffe birth on August 7, at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts had been greeted with joy, but his heartwarming arrival was soon tempered with worry for the calf’s inability to thrive.
The calf’s mother, Amari, delivered the 167-pound healthy male who was soon able to stand, however he refused to nurse for the first 24 hours, which is a critical time to bond with his mother and to receive the nourishing food and antibodies from his mom’s colostrum.
Attempts to encourage nursing were not successful; last Sunday, the calf was sent to the Hospital for Large Animals at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton. His initial prognosis had been listed as guarded.
His mother Amari has been closely monitored by her doting animal care team behind the scenes at Franklin Park Zoo. She is eating and behaving normally and receiving lots of enrichment from her care team.
On Thursday, some encouraging news highlighted the plight for the baby giraffe. Specialists at the hospital reported the calf is showing significant improvement in some important areas, especially in his feeding and hydration, as well as in treating his diarrhea.
The calf received another plasma transfusion to increase his immunoglobulins, which will help his immune system fight infections, and he’s positively responding to the bottle feeding now. While it’s still taking him a little while to latch on to the bottle, he is eventually able to drink the full amount. As his gut heals and the diarrhea continues to improve, he will get larger amounts of food by bottle and less through IV nutrition. He will continue receiving other IV treatments, including antibiotics. His attitude and activity are improved, and the team has upgraded his condition to “cautiously optimistic.”
The Masai giraffe, also referred to as the Kilimanjaro giraffe are found in southern Kenya and Tanzania. They are the largest of the giraffe subspecies and are known for their distinctive dark brown and vine leafed spots interspersed with brown-cream. Masai giraffes are classified as endangered because of loss of habitat and poaching.
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(photos via Taylor Coester for Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University)
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