Now, the question is: which one will give birth first? It's a race to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's 200th giraffe calf!
Two female giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are expecting calves this spring! Zoo officials said that Muziki and Laikipia both bred with one of the male giraffes, Khalid, about a year ago and were confirmed pregnant in June. Typically, giraffe pregnancies last for 14.5 to 15 months, which would put their due dates around late April or early May. So ... which one will have the baby first? Whichever calf is born first will be the zoo's 200th giraffe calf born since the zoo started to breed giraffes back in 1954! "We've had 199 calves to date, and that's one of the most successful breeding programs in the country," said Jenny Koch, marketing director at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. "We're really proud of that. We don't really know what to attribute it to. We like to say it's the fresh mountain air, but our giraffes just seem healthy and happy, and they breed well." If you're itching to stay updated on the upcoming births, the zoo has plans to have a live streaming birth camera within the giraffes' enclosure so you can watch and wait for the baby giraffes' arrivals.
Watch the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's announcement video below:
https://www.facebook.com/CMZoo/videos/10156352874701019/
What do you think? Which giraffe will have a baby first? Muziki or Laikipia? Share your vote in the comments below, and let's get the conversation started.