At 10:49 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19, Bailey, a 10-year-old giraffe, welcomed her second calf – and second daughter – to the world at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The baby is the 203rd giraffe born at the zoo through its nationally-renowned breeding program.

According to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Animal Care Manager Jason Bredhal, after a little help standing for the first time from the care team, the baby giraffe has been checking all the boxes they hope for when welcoming new calfs. “You can imagine, those long giraffe legs being tucked up inside mom for so long, they don’t work so good,” Brehdal said. “So we just gave her a little boost that first time and then after that she’s been moving around on her own.”

At approximately six feet tall and 125 pounds, the baby seems strong and healthy. She’s staying close to mom but enjoying using her tongue to explore branches and other features in her habitat. “Just like humans do, they like to put everything in their mouth,” Brehdal said.

For now, mama and baby are visible from a distance in the giraffe barn, which has been designed as a quiet zone as they adjust. Over the next few days, the calf will be introduced to the herd slowly, starting with the older females that are good with young giraffes.

“When we can welcome a youngster like this, it’s a really fantastic amazing time for everybody to see how they start off as such a small animal,” Bredhal said.

Giraffes start taking solid food around three-to-five months and Bredhal assumes that she will start taking food from guests around the five-to-six month time period.

The baby giraffe is not yet named.