Baby Giraffe born at Saigon Zoo behind closed doors

[ASEAN NOW News]

 

On July 15, the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens welcomed an addition to its 1,000-member fauna family: a new baby giraffe.

 

Meet Baby Giraffe, the latest member of the Saigon Zoo crew. Photo via Người Lao Động

 

The young calf, a girl, was delivered healthy and safely on Thursday 15th July after 15 months of gestation.

 

Freshly out of her mother’s womb, the calf already weighed about 50 kilograms and stood at an impressive height of 1.6 meters.

 

The birth of this little giraffe came under special circumstances, as almost all of Ho Chi Minh City has been shut down to combat the spread of COVID-19.

 

Zoo Shut since June

 

The Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens has also stopped accepting guests since the beginning of June to comply with social distancing rules.

 

 

The arrival of a new life during this pessimistic time thus entails great significance and offers a beacon of hope for the zoo and the community at large.

 

According to the Saigoneer, to celebrate the occasion, the zoo has invited young members of the public to name the giant youngling.

 

“Our baby giraffe was born when the city was undergoing special circumstances, so we hope that she will have an equally unique and meaningful name,” said Trương Ngọc Đăng, head of the technical department of the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

 

Many want to name this baby

 

The announcement of the naming event has attracted the attention of many Vietnamese netizens, who, with all their wit and genius, contributed a torrent of everything from touching wishes to randomized syllables.

 

Among the 400 submissions under the announcement, many are unsurprisingly related to COVID-19 due to the timing of the giraffe’s birth.

 

Meanwhile, some went the extra mile to suggest profound names with even detailed semantic explanations.

 

Pandemic has created many challenges

 

A representative of the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens also said that the pandemic has brought an onslaught of challenges to animal preservation efforts at the center.

 

In accordance with the government's latest directive, that stated all operating businesses and organizations must provide on-site accommodation for staff, staff veterinarians and technicians are now restricted in number, and are not allowed to leave as long as lockdown measures are in place.

 

However, the team of zookeepers are determined to withstand these difficulties and "take good care of the species that are being looked after and kept safe here," said one board member.

 

Zoo’s and attractions all over the world have been struggling to cope with lack of funds, as they are forced to close.

 

One enterprising family in Thailand are even asking the public to donate US$25 to pay for a truck load of food to feed their elephants for just one day.

 

With the zoo team’s wholehearted resoluteness along with the community’s support, both the young giraffe and Saigon will grow healthy, and eventually everyone will be able hurry back to the Zoo after the pandemic to see this new arrival.

 

 

 

 

[Neeranam]

Cute!