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Al Ain Zoo is celebrating the birth of two newborns, a hippopotamus and a giraffe calf. The new-borns are now on exhibit at Al Ain Zoo after being closely monitored under the excellent care of the zoo’s veterinarian team, ready to welcome Eid Al Adha visitors and joining the zoo’s distinguished collection of approximately 4,000 animals.
The young female hippopotamus, which was born earlier this autumn, is now available for public viewing at Al Ain Zoo’s core zoo exhibit, while the female giraffe calf, which was born in late spring, has joined the other Nubian giraffes in the Mixed African Exhibit.
One of nine subspecies, the Nubian giraffe is native to the wooded grasslands and savannahs of Africa, from eastern Sudan to northeast Congo. Each animal has a unique pattern of large four sided brown spots, with pale underbellies and legs. Their populations in southern Africa are expanding, while elsewhere in Africa, such as the Niger, the species in danger of extinction.
On the other hand, the hippopotamus, which naturally occurs only in sub-Sahran Africa and within a restricted distribution area, is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened species as vulnerable due to the significant decline in their population in the past three decades. The exhibit for the hippopotamus at Al Ain Zoo has been designed in a way that offers a clear view of the animals and water pool to the public, mimicking their natural environment.
Muna Al Dhaheri, Acting Chief Conservation & Education Officer, commented:
“We are delighted to welcome the new-borns hippopotamus and giraffe to the zoo, and to introduce them to our visitors for the very first time. They are young, curious, and enjoying the cooling weather, and as such it is a great time for visitors to come and meet them as they settle in their new homes.”
Al Ain Zoo is a member of the World Association for Zoo and Aquaria (WAZA) and is actively involved in several internationally coordinated conservation projects, working with other like-minded organisations such as Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, the Species Survival Commission, San Diego Zoo, the Northern Rangelands Trust of Kenya and the Sahara Conservation Fund, to conserve and re-introduce threatened arid land species such as Arabian Oryx and Scimitar-horned Oryx to their natural habitat.
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