RIP MARILYN, MY FAVORITE GIRAFFE AT THE MEMPHIS ZOO

RIP MARILYN:

On Oct. 30th, 2019 Memphis Zoo officials have announced the sad news that its oldest giraffe has died at the age of 26. Marilyn was a favorite of zoo visitors; she gave birth to six calves.

Zoo officials said in the post that the giraffe's "strong maternal instincts and experience made her a regular 'auntie' and 'midwife'" for other new mothers and young giraffes in the herd.

I’d like to celebrate her life! So, I built a photo gallery here of some of my pictures of Marilyn, her babies and some of the other giraffes. As a photojournalist in Memphis, I photographed Marilyn often and also many of her babies at one time or another over the years. Watching and photographing giraffes is one of my favorite pastimes.

Reticulated giraffes are endangered, but Marilyn did her share to reproduce this beautiful creature. The Memphis Zoo’s breeding program has been very successful. For several years here in Memphis, we’ve enjoyed baby giraffes each spring. The gestational period of a giraffe is over a year and their babies are usually born at about six feet in height.

Reticulated giraffes are native to Somalia but they are also found in Northern Kenya. It is estimated that there are less than 9,000 Reticulated Giraffes left in the wild.

The first video below is of Marilyn and her baby. I made other short videos of the giraffe’s at the Memphis zoo and I will share them here too because giraffes, especially baby giraffes, are such a joy to watch.

VIDEOS BELOW:

Thanks for the memories.

Memphis Zoo Welcomes Second New Baby Giraffe in Less Than One Week!

Memphis Zoo Welcomes Second New Baby Giraffe in Less Than One Week~ Wendy, a Memphis Zoo giraffe gave birth recently to a boy calf and his is name is Kiburi, which means precocious in Swahili. Within the same week, the zoo’s 12-year-old giraffe Angela Kate gave birth her baby giraffe on April 9, 2019. These births bring the Memphis Zoo’s reticulated giraffe herd to 11. Reticulated giraffes are considered endangered, with only 11,000 remaining in the wild and a population that is declining. Memphis Zoo, located in Memphis, Tennessee, is home to more than 4,500 animals representing more than 500 different species.

Here you can see as the newest baby was introduced to his daddy Nikalaus gets to meet his babies.

I also happened to catch Giraffe vocalizations from the baby. It was the first time I had heard that. You can hear it too in this video.

~~~~~~~~~~VIDEO BELOW~~

Below you will find shorter video of just the baby giraffe vocalizations.

UPDATE FROM THE ZOO APRIL 25th, 2019-

“We’ve had a lot of questions about our most recent baby giraffe Ali, born just days after our boy Kiburi joined the herd earlier this month. Ali’s had quite the journey over the last few weeks, but we are happy to say she is back at Memphis Zoo on stall rest.” ~The Memphis Zoo

https://www.memphiszoo.org/blog/posts/alis-journey