Sophie Grace stares intently in the direction of the birthing room where she first appeared to this world only six weeks ago. It is a room that no members of the herd can access – except Sophie and her mother, Mardi – and she knows that this is her safe place to escape from the visitors who have come to gaze upon the new addition to the Calgary Zoo’s giraffe family.
Sophie Grace stays close to mom Mardi, while she gets used to her new surroundings at the Calgary Zoo where she was born six weeks ago.
A partition made of a mesh fence separates her and Mardi from the other three members of the herd, as a 17-month-old calf, Sherri, curiously peeks around the side to get a glimpse of her new, and smaller, playmate. As Mardi consistently walks a perimeter around her calf, Sophie appears to be at attention with her ears perked up, attempting to become familiar with her surroundings.
Sophie was born on the morning of Dec. 5, 2009, and measured five feet 10 inches tall and weighed 130 pounds.
Laurie Herron, manager of communications for the Calgary Zoo, says Sophie is doing great and is starting to fill out quite nicely.
“She is a little petite, but very healthy,” Herron says.
Sophie, the 16th giraffe born at the Calgary Zoo, has become one of the latest interests of visitors now that the Calgary weather has warmed up.
“Attendance is very weather dependent, but there are people who have come specifically to see her because she is very cute,” Herron says.
Meghan Sim is a retail clerk at the Calgary Zoo, and was extremely excited when Sophie was born.
“You can watch the birth on YouTube,” Sim says. “It’s kind of gross, but cool to see at the same time.”
The herd has now grown to five as Sophie joins mother Mardi, father Tenga, another adult female Carrie and her 17-month-old calf Sherri.
Herron says that because Mardi is almost 20-years-old, Sophie will probably be her last calf. In the wild, giraffes rarely live past Mardi’s age, but in captivity Mardi is expected to have a much longer life.
Sophie will continue to nurse from Mardi until she is approximately four-months-old. She might try to nibble on hay and straw here and there, but she won’t be looking to feed any hunger, just feed her curiosity.
Sophie had a vet check a couple days after birth, but the zoo does not conduct too many.
“Giraffes don’t particularly like to be touched,” Herron says.
Zoo keepers have started Sophie on what is called target training. It involves giving the animal a reward such as a carrot for performing tasks like touching their nose to a prod. In this way, the zoo keepers and vets can handle the animal as little as possible.
Currently, Sophie and Mardi are secluded from the rest of the herd by a mesh fence that separates the habitat. Zoo keepers have already begun some introductions with a couple of the other members of the herd, Carrie and her 17-month-old calf Sherri. Sophie was still quite shy and nervous to meet these two members as her mother stood close by her side.
Since Sherri is a calf herself, she was very excited to have another small giraffe in the herd, and she attempted to play with Sophie. There were a few times that Mardi stepped in because Sophie was becoming scared and Sherri was playing a little too rough.
Sophie has only been introduced to her father, Tenga, through the mesh divider.
“Males have less tolerance for calves,” Herron says.
In the wild there is much more roaming space than in a captive environment, which the giraffes can escape to if they want some time away. Herron says that Sophie will be fully introduced to Tenga in the spring when there is more room with the outdoor habitat.
Sophie Grace was named after the daughter of a long-time zoo supporter who gave a generous donation to the Calgary zoo’s Conservation research. This particular donation will go to help the Northern Leopard Frog.
“The zoo does a great deal for conservation,” Herron says. “Animals in our collection are ambassadors for their species.”
