Sacramento Zoo's Shani The Giraffe Is Pregnant

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — It's World Giraffe Day and the Sacramento Zoo announced that one of its Masai giraffes is pregnant with a calf due in late summer.

The calf will be the 21st giraffe born at the zoo since 1964. The pregnant giraffe is Shani and Glory the giraffe will be a big sister for the first time, zoo officials said Tuesday.

According to the Sacramento Zoo, newborn giraffe calves, which are typically born at around 6 feet tall and nearly 150 pounds, can double their height within the first year and even learn to walk and run within an hour of being born. This is due to a long gestation period of approximately 15 months.

If the new calf is a female, it will stay with the herd which includes Shani, Glory and a male Masai giraffe, Chifu. If the giraffe is a male, it will move on to a new herd after two years, which the zoo says is typical of a normal giraffe family cycle in the wild.