Rare giraffe born at West Midland Safari Park - watch the video
A rare Rothschild's giraffe has been born at West Midland Safari Park – the third baby welcomed into the herd in just six months.
The six-foot-tall baby boy arrived to first time mum, five year old Arusha. He joins playmates, Embu and Emali, who were born in August and September 2016.
Rothschild's giraffe are currently listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
And its birth is another success story in the park's ongoing work with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
Watch the giraffe's birth:
The new calf has been named Fennessy, in honour of Dr Julian Fennessy and his family. The family founded the charity and he is now its director.
He said, "We are elated to have a baby giraffe named after our family. The kids are super excited and hope it has a bright and prosperous future as an ambassador for all giraffe in the wild. We really appreciate the great partnership we have with West Midland Safari Park and other zoos around the world."
Head keeper of ungulates at the park, Lisa Watkins said, "To help us keep track of our animals births, each year is allocated a letter and so in 2017 all our babies' names will begin with the letter F. We couldn't think of anything more fitting than naming our new baby Fennessy to honour the important work done by GCF.
"It's not an ideal time of year for an African animal to come into the world, however we are able to keep our giraffe house lovely and warm using our biomass boiler heating system. Although Arusha is a first time mum she is taking it all in her stride and has picked up some tips from watching Bwindi and Akacia looking after their calves. We can tell how much Embu and Emali have grown now by looking at our new little arrival."
The new arrival takes the size of the giraffe herd at the park, which sits alongside the Severn Valley Railway, to 10.
