The Cameron Park Zoo welcomed its newest resident when Penelope, the zoo's Masai giraffe, gave birth to her first calf on Jan. 22. The male calf weighed in at 135 pounds and is 6 feet tall.
The zoo started a naming contest for the giraffe Wednesday on its Facebook page.
The zoo said Penelope was having difficulty allowing the calf to nurse for extended periods of time, so the animal care staff was closely monitoring the calf’s health in order to provide supportive care if necessary.
Born on May 9, 2013, Penelope came to Cameron Park Zoo from the San Diego Zoo. Her mate, Dane, was born on April 18, 2013. Dane came from the Santa Barbara Zoo.
Their baby is the first giraffe birth in 20 years at Cameron Park Zoo and the first Masai birth.
The zoo said it would be a few days before the calf would be ready to play in the exhibit yard where he will meet DJ, the zoo’s newest Greater Kudu.
DJ’s mom is Shani and dad is the late Damien. DJ was born on Nov. 14, 2020.
The Masai giraffe is the largest subspecies of giraffe and can be found in Central and Southern Kenya and in Tanzania. They have distinctive, irregular, jagged, star-like blotches that extend to the hooves.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on the conservation status of wild animals and plants, lists Masai giraffes, as endangered, primarily due to poaching and habitat fragmentation.