Keeping his head held high

Two baby giraffes will soon take their place in the herd.

By STUART WINER
Baby giraffe 521 (photo credit: Gili Cohen Magen)
Baby giraffe 521
(photo credit: Gili Cohen Magen)
Recent visitors to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo’s Africa enclosure may have been lucky enough to spot the new addition to the exhibit – a baby giraffe. The giraffe, named Owen, was born in the summer and is fast catching up in height with its peers in the zoo’s herd of giraffes. Those who missed seeing him in his first few weeks need not worry; last month, another giraffe was born and will soon be on display.
Introducing a new animal into the Africa enclosure is trickier than it might seem, even for a giraffe that quickly grows tall enough to tower over the other inhabitants of the exhibit. Owen was 1.70 meters tall at birth and has been growing about 10 centimeters a day every since.
Although the rhinos and the hippopotami seem indifferent to the new arrival, it is the zebras that often cause trouble. Zebras can be very territorial and will attack anything that they feel is invading their space. For the first three weeks of his life, the young giraffe was kept out of the main enclosure and away from the zebras. After that, he was given only a few hours a day to spend with the rest of the giraffes, as they mixed with the zebras, and even then always under the watchful eye of a zookeeper. The zebras would frequently try to bite the new arrival, although not when they were aware that the keepers were watching.
“It is like a schoolteacher who turns her back to the class to write on the board and then the pupils start to misbehave,” explains Gilad Moshe, chief keeper of the Herbivore Section.
However, a shouted admonishment at the wily zebras is usually enough to chase them away from the vulnerable giraffe.
The danger will pass when Owen is big enough to take care of himself. Giraffes have no natural predators in the wild due to their large size and formidable back kick that is powerful enough to kill even a lion. The zebras will soon be wary of the young giraffe, after which he will spend all day on display with the older animals of his kind.
The long necks of giraffes are now the focus of some scientific interest; not from conservationists but from NASA. When astronauts return from space, the enormous deceleration forces can cause their blood to pool in different parts of their bodies. NASA investigators are looking at giraffes to learn how they naturally prevent the blood from dropping out of their necks and into their feet, in the hope of replicating the technique for space travelers.
In the meantime, Owen will be keeping his feet firmly on the ground and his head held high above the annoying zebras perhaps until Yasmin, the even newer arrival, diverts their attention.