Giraffe born at Toledo zoo won’t go on exhibit for a while

TOLEDO, Ohio – A northwest Ohio zoo is welcoming a 130-pound (59-kilogram) bundle of joy that stands 5-feet, 7-inches (171 centimetres) tall.

The Toledo Zoo says a Masai giraffe has given birth to a female calf named Kipenzi (kee-PEHN’-zee). That means “beloved” or “precious one” in Swahili.

The zoo says the calf born Monday and her mother, Elli, won’t be on public display until cleared by the zoo’s veterinary staff. That could be sometime around Memorial Day.

Much attention has been generated lately by a New York animal park that has had livestream video of its pregnant giraffe waiting to give birth.

But Toledo Zoo officials say they won’t livestream births or similar events. A zoo spokeswoman tells The Blade newspaper (http://bit.ly/2nqgjee) that too many things can possibly go wrong.