The wait has been excruciating for die-hard, pregnant-giraffe voyeurs — but finally the Greenville Zoo has welcomed its newest addition.
The baby Masai giraffe, born Sunday afternoon, has yet to be named and its gender is not yet known.
The Feb. 21 moment, broadcast online across the world to thousands of dutiful viewers, came two months later than originally expected.
That's because zookeepers say mother Autumn and father Miles had another ... consummation ... that the staff wasn't aware of.
The calf was born at 2:28 p.m. and 40 minutes later was standing on its own, city spokeswoman Beth Brotherton said in a news release.
The birth was broadcast via webcam. Viewers can monitor the live feed to see Autumn and her new calf interact.
The baby will nurse for nine to 12 months and will start eating foliage in about two months. Born about six feet tall, baby giraffes double in size within the first year.
The birth is part of the Greenville Zoo's participation in the breeding program sanctioned by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The "species survival plan" ensures genetic diversity of the endangered species and involves giraffes being transferred to different zoos to breed.
The Union for Conservation of Nature in 2019 declared the Masai giraffe endangered with only 35,000 believed to be in existence now, half the amount 30 years ago.
This is the sixth pregnancy for 14-year-old Autumn, who came from Boston in 2007 when the Greenville Zoo created its exhibit.
At the time, she was matched with male partner Walter, and in 2012 she gave birth to her first baby, Kiko. In 2014, her second calf, Roho, was stillborn. Her third pregnancy was successful in 2016 with the birth of Tatu.
After the birth of Tatu, a new partner, Miles, came from Houston to join Autumn and has fathered two offspring, Kiden in 2018 and Kellan the following year.
Currently, only Kellan and Miles remain in Greenville.
Last November, the city of Greenville, which owns the zoo, announced Autumn was pregnant and would give birth in mid-December.
The time came and went — and it was a matter of some human assumptions. The parents apparently didn’t try just once, James Traverse, the zoo’s general curator, told The Post and Courier in December.
In the past, the observation is that Autumn has conceived the first time she’s been able. A subsequent “copulation event” was likely responsible for the delay, he said.
The next task, after allowing the baby and mother to bond, will be to determine the gender and put the naming of the giraffe to a public vote.
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