Cameras capture dramatic moment rare six foot giraffe calf is born at Chester Zoo

Watch as the calf falls two metres to the ground as its mum gives birth at Chester Zoo

Cameras have captured the incredible moment that a giraffe calf was born at Chester Zoo.

'Stanley' was born to 14-year-old mum Orla on Saturday 6 August, bringing an end to a 15-month long pregnancy.

The newcomer made a dramatic entrance into the world, after falling more than two metres onto a bed of straw, startling the other giraffes in the herd.

Keepers have named the Rothschild giraffe calf Stanley after Mount Stanley, the tallest mountain in Uganda in Africa, where the zoo's conservationists are fighting to boost giraffe numbers.

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Stanley has been named after Mount Stanley in Uganda. Credit: Chester Zoo

The CCTV footage also shows the moment the newborn stands up and takes his first steps and enjoys his first feed – a moment zookeepers say is 'vitally important' for the bond between mum and baby.

Sarah Roffe, Giraffe Team Manager at the zoo, said: "Mum-to-be Orla was stood next to Dagmar, another experienced mum, for the delivery as she readied herself for the final push.

"The excitement of a new calf suddenly appearing shortly before 3am certainly gave everyone quite the awakening.

"This two-metre high fall is a really important part of the birthing process as it's what helps to break the umbilical cord and stimulates the calf to take its very first breath."While tiny in comparison to mum Orla, her new arrival was born already towering above us at 6ft tall and weighing a hefty 72kg."

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Stanley smiles for the cameras. Credit: Chester Zoo

Mike Jordan, Director of Animals and Plants at the zoo said: "For many years giraffes across Africa have been experiencing a silent extinction, and now the world’s tallest land mammal is one of the at-risk species.

"Having a healthy new calf on the ground here at the zoo is fantastic news for the threatened species breeding programme that’s boosting numbers in conservation zoos like ours."

Watch as Stanley ventures out for the first time

Rothschild's giraffe facts:

  • Mum Orla has previously given birth to five other calves at Chester Zoo, Millie, Narus, Kidepo, Karamoja and Albert. 

  • Dad Meru is 12-years-old.

  • Rothschild’s giraffes have one of the smallest populations of the nine sub-species of giraffe.

  • They are named after zoologist Lord Walter Rothschild, founder of the National History Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire.

  • The species is identified by its broader dividing white lines and has no spots beneath the knees.

  • Once wide-ranging across Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, the Rothschild’s giraffe has been almost totally eliminated from much of its former range and now only survives in a few small, isolated populations in Kenya and Uganda.

  • Estimates suggest that fewer than 2,500 Rothschild’s giraffes remain in the wild.

  • Roughly one-third of the surviving population of Rothschild’s giraffes live in zoos where carefully co-ordinated breeding programmes are creating a safety-net population for the species.

  • The main threat to the species now is loss of habitat and poaching for meat and hides.

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