Baby Giraffe’s Dramatic Five-Foot Birth Drop Explained

This spectacular Instagram post captures the moment when a baby giraffe is born, and it is quite an entrance! Their first experience on this Earth is a long drop to the ground. This is just one stage of a long reproduction process that, hopefully, results in a healthy newborn giraffe calf trotting along beside their mother. Here, we guide you through the process, step by step.

Giraffe Courtship

Female giraffes have an estrus cycle of 15 days and first breed when they are between six and seven years old. Females over 24 years of age generally do not produce offspring. Breeding can take place throughout the year, but timing may be influenced by rainfall and food availability. A male will use his sense of smell to check which females are in estrus. It is usually only the dominant male who mates with the females. He may have to follow her for hours before she will let him mate with her.

Giraffe pregnancies last between 446 and 457 days (13 to 15 months) and usually result in one calf, although twins are rarely born. The interval between births is highly variable but is usually around 19 to 22 months. Records show that female giraffes have an average of eight calves in their lifetimes, and of these, around three will reach adulthood.

The Birth Process

As you can see in the above clip, giraffes give birth in a standing position. Giving birth like this has a number of advantages for giraffes. If they were to lie down to give birth, the mother would be more vulnerable. It takes a giraffe a while to scramble to its feet if a predator (such as a lion) approaches, and this could mean the difference between life and death. This position also gives enough room for the foal’s long neck to emerge without getting bent. Monarto Safari Park near Murray Bridge in South Australia describes how one of their giraffes gave birth sitting down and squashed the calf’s neck, giving it a permanent kink. The calf survived and was named ‘Kinky’.

Giraffe labor can take around 10 hours, but every labor is different. During this time, the mother may get up and down a few times. However, it is not unusual for her to hide that she is in labor. Revealing this vulnerable condition to predators is not a good idea!

The Baby Emerges

Once the shoulders are out, the rest of the labor is quite quick. Baby giraffes are born with their front limbs stretched out in front of them in a superman position. This is typical for ungulates with large young and is the most efficient position for them to pass down the birth canal. This is important because their limbs are so long. If one leg were folded backward, it would make the calf too wide to pass through, and it would get stuck. There are reports of giraffe foals dying during birth with their front legs folded under them. Breech births (where the hind legs come out first) are very rare in giraffes and generally unsuccessful. They often result in the death of the calf and sometimes the mother, too. In breech births, the breathing stimulus might trigger while the baby is still inside, causing it to aspirate (breathe in) non-sterile fluids, which can be fatal.

Baby giraffes are covered in several membranes. The allantois ruptures as the calf passes from the uterus through the cervix. The amniotic sac generally ruptures as the calf emerges from the birth canal, but mothers will sometimes rub against a surface to break it.

A Long Fall

A baby giraffe’s first experience of life is a long fall! When they emerge from their Mom, they drop at least five feet to the ground. This fall snaps the short umbilical cord and tears the amniotic sac if it is still intact. The landing also triggers the calf to take its first breath. The mother nudges and licks the calf, encouraging it to breathe and move.

Calves Get Moving Quickly

It is normal for calves to get to their feet within five to twenty minutes of birth. The mother encourages them to do this. Newborn giraffe calves weigh around 220 pounds and stand up to six feet tall at the shoulder. It is normal to see them stumbling and tumbling at first as they attempt to walk. Within a few hours, they will nurse from their mother. The first milk is called colostrum and contains essential nutrients and antibodies to give them the best start in life. Giraffe milk is high in both protein and fat. Mothers can produce up to 17 pints a day (usually between 5 and 21 pints a day). It will be a week or so before the mother returns to the herd to show off her new arrival!