Colorado Springs zoo welcomes 6-foot-tall baby giraffe

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A giraffe herd at a Colorado Springs zoo has welcomed its 16th member following the birth of a calf.

The 10-year-old reticulated giraffe named Msitu gave birth Saturday at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

The zoo says the calf was about 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall at birth and weighed more than 150 pounds (68 kilograms).

Zoo officials say the mother and calf appear to be doing well.

The sex of the calf has not yet been confirmed. The zoo waits 30 days before naming babies.

Pregnancies for reticulated giraffes can last up to 15 months.

The calf is Msitu’s third. She gave birth to Emy in 2013 and to Rae in 2017.

Emy lives at a zoo in Peoria, Illinois. Rae remains with the Colorado Springs herd.