Giraffe at Calgary Zoo gives birth after pregnancy challenges

A giraffe at the Calgary Zoo gave birth on Sunday to a healthy male calf, finally overcoming the pregnancy challenges that had kept her from becoming a mother.

The calf is a bit smaller than expected, leading the zoo to suspect he was born at the early end of the normal gestation range.

Eight-year-old Emara has previously had two late-term miscarriages and a calf that died after 48 hours in 2017.

Emara was brought to the Calgary Zoo from San Diego in 2016 as part of a breeding program.

During her last pregnancy, the animal care team monitored Emara's progesterone levels through fecal sample testing.

With help from a reproductive physiologist at the University of Guelph, they discovered that Emara's progesterone levels declined as her pregnancy progressed.

So, during this pregnancy, the team supplemented Emara with daily progesterone in her favourite treat and monitored her fecal hormone levels to make sure more normal levels were maintained.

"Pregnancy issues in giraffes are rare, and our work with specialists and zoos across North America to help Emara successfully become a mom was worth it," Dr. Sandie Black, head of veterinary services at the zoo, said in the release.

The calf isn't out of the woods yet, but the team is cautiously optimistic.

Emara and her baby will not be on view to the public until later this week.

The zoo says wild giraffe populations have plummeted more than 40 per cent over the past 30 years because of habitat loss, civil unrest and illegal hunting.

Masai giraffe like Emara have been very badly affected, resulting in a classification of "endangered" on the Red List of Threatened Species, an inventory created by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.