El Paso Zoo Giraffe Gigi is Preggers! Juma, You ARE the Father

The El Paso Zoo’s female giraffe, Gigi, is expecting a baby this spring.

Gigi will be a first-time mom and her calf will be the first-ever giraffe birth for the city-run zoo.

“We are all very excited about this new addition to our Zoo family. This has been in the plans for years and we are finally very close to welcoming this new life to the zoo,” El Paso Zoo Director Joe Montisano said in a city press release.

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Juma, You ARE the Father

The now four-year-old Gigi joined Juma as a resident of the El Paso Zoo in April of 2021 and got along quite well from the start. So much so that the friendship quickly blossomed into something, well, more romantic.

Age ain’t nothing but a number for Gigi who clearly has a thing for older giraffes as Juma, the baby daddy, is 12 years her elder.

According to a city press release, she’s 14 months along and will be giving birth in the next few weeks.

Yes, you read that right; 14 months. And you thought carrying a child for 9 months is long. Juma better get her one hell of a push present, am I right?

Gigi Will Give Birth Standing Up

Giraffes spend most of their lives standing up; they even give birth standing up. That means when Gigi’s offspring is born, he or she will fall a few feet to the ground.

But don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt them.

From what I read on the internet, the fall helps snap the umbilical cord and tear the amniotic sack, and the landing will help stimulate the newborn giraffe to take its first breaths.

When born, the calf will stand about 6 feet tall and weigh around 150 pounds. Within hours it will be able to stand, feed, and walk all on its own.

Baby giraffes will nurse and follow their mom around for 9 to 12 months.

No doubt going, Mom! Mom! Mom! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mama! Mama! Mama! Ma! Ma! Ma! Mum! Mum! Mum! Mummy! Mummy! Mumma! Mumma! Mumma! the whole time.