How The Tulsa Zoo Is Helping A Giraffe Through First-Time Pregnancy

The Tulsa Zoo's four-year-old giraffe Zoe is pregnant with her first calf and due this summer. Zoological Manager of Elephants and Hoof stock at the Tulsa Jessica Scallan said, "We suspected Zoe may be pregnant because we did see breeding by our male Hekaya with Zoe in early 2022."

She said further testing confirmed their suspicions and the animal care team got to work crafting a birth management plan for Zoe.

"We follow that plan pretty closely. Also, we have a lot of monitoring with the veterinary team, ultrasounds were one of them," Scallan said.

Since Zoe is a first-time mom, the team had to train her to stand for ultrasounds.

Cameras were also installed in the giraffe barn to monitor Zoe overnight.

"With a first-time mom you know their body has not been through that part of pregnancy let alone labor and delivery and so we have pretty much monitored, just like any pregnancy, but we are just looking for those signs and wishing for the best for her first time at this," Scallan said.

Nutrition is another important part of a giraffe's pregnancy, so Zoe must now eat enough calories for two. The changes in her appetite also helped zookeepers spot a baby on the way.

"We started seeing some physical changes, her stomach was starting to get a little larger," Scallan continued saying, "She was a little bit hungrier and we were making those adjustments as needed."

However, Scallan said the biggest adjustment will come once the calf arrives. "It has to stand, it has to walk, and it has to nurse all within a very critical, short amount of time and hopefully mom is kind of assisting and nurturing along the way," she added.

Giraffes are vulnerable to extinction, with fewer than 117,000 left in the wild.

The Tulsa Zoo is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) which is working to conserve the species. The zoo says that is why this pregnancy is so exciting.

"The AZA matched up Hekaya and Zoe to be the greatest genetic match and to see that go on a sustainable plan to actually a reality is a really great moment for us because we did participate, and we contributed to the giraffe population which is exactly what we are here to do at the Tulsa Zoo."