Two beautiful baby giraffes at Marwell

Marwell Zoological Park is celebrating the birth of not one, but two healthy female giraffes, and with the arrival of the school summer holidays now is the perfect time to see the babies exploring their new home.

Matilda, Marwell’s eleven year old giraffe, gave birth to a female calf on Wednesday 14^th May. Keepers have named her Christa after her dad, Christopher.  Less than a month later, on Friday 6^th June, Mary gave birth to another healthy female which keepers have named Tiye, after the Nubian queen of Kemet (Ancient Egypt). The name also means beautiful and gorgeous, which, we are sure you will agree, is very fitting when you see her on your next visit!

Christa and Tiye’s arrival took a long time as giraffes are pregnant for around 15 months. The keepers kept a close eye on both females during their pregnancies and were delighted to be able to watch both babies being born without any problems. The arrival of babies is always an exciting time for everyone at the Park. Head keeper for the giraffes, Ian Goodwin said: “We are thrilled that Christa and Tiye are doing so well. Christa is full of energy and Tiye is looking every inch like Christopher and Mary with her dark markings.”

Matilda and Mary are both very successful mums.  Christa is Matilda’s fifth calf. Her youngest son, Taharqa, can also be seen in Marwell’s family herd. Mary has two previous calves living in different collections in the UK and is also mum to JaJa, who is still living with the family group.

Matilda and Kismet (Marwell’s recently arrived new male) are pure bred Rothschild’s giraffes, a species of giraffe which is in danger of extinction. It is believed that there are only around 600 Rothschild’s giraffes left in a few protected areas in Kenya and in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Marwell keepers hope that Matilda and Kismet will breed in the next few years, and help safeguard the future of Rothschild’s giraffes. 

Marwell Zoological Park will be offering fun family activities for the whole family to enjoy this summer. There are three different animal themes to choose from and they all include a chance to listen to animal stories or poems, meet an animal and make a craft item to take home.

Discover why frogs and toads are so important in AMAZING       AMPHIBIANS, find out how animals use their special abilities in ANIMAL SUPERHEROES, or learn how you can help the wildlife in your back garden with GARDEN SAFARI. 

The hour long sessions are aimed at children aged between 5 and 9 years old, each session costs £3.50 per child (adults go free). For more information please visit www.marwell.org.uk

Pre-booking is essential and Park entry admission costs apply. To book email Jessica Dolan at jessicad@marwell.org.uk or call 01962 777905.