Blank Park Zoo's New Chief is Quite Tall

Meet the newest member of the Blank Park Zoo- a reticulated giraffe, born early Saturday morning at 3:22am on the south side of Des Moines.. 

Animal keepers at the zoo say the male baby giraffe calf began standing and walking within twenty minutes, is nursing, and appears to have bonded with its mother, Samburu. 

Zoo workers have been keeping their distance- mother giraffes have highly protective instincts.  But after two days, it was time for a well-baby exam.  Zookeepers say the baby’s height was 6’2” and weight was 172 lbs and report that mother and baby are doing just fine.

To name the new calf, Zoo officials decided on an African name in honor of the tallest Chief Executive Officer of an Iowa Fortune 500 company, who also has taken on Major Iowa philanthropic projects.…  So to recognize Barry Griswell, retired CEO of Principal Financial Group and recently appointed head of the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, the new male giraffe will be named “Mkuu” (pronounced em-COO-you in Swahili meaning “chief” or “principal””).   Griswell is 7 1/2 inches taller than his new namesake and has the baby by a few pounds.

Although it will be a few weeks until it is safe for Mkuu to be on exhibit for the public, he and mom’s progress can be viewed live at www.blankparkzoo.com under “webcam”.  

Some Giraffe Facts:
Giraffes are the world’s tallest land mammal- and can grow to be 17 feet tall, and can run 30-35 miles per hour.

The Blank Park Zoo exhibits reticulated giraffe, one of 7 subspecies of giraffe all of which are found in Africa.  This sub-species is historically found in northern Kenya and southern Somalia.  Numbers of reticulated giraffe are greatly reduced in Somalia, but are still common in Kenya.  They are threatened loss of habitat and human intervention.

 Reticulated means interconnected and refers to the white portion of the coat pattern.  The white part is connected by a lace pattern that forms the block shaped spots.  Each individual giraffe’s coat pattern is unique and no two are alike.  Individuals can be identified by their pattern which is a handy tool for researchers.

The Blank Park Zoo, Iowa’s WILDEST Adventure, is open everyday from 10am-5pm.  Admission is $9.95 for adults, $4.95 for children under 12, and $6.95 for seniors and active military.   

Photo Credit: Ryan Bickel, Blank Park Zoo