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New-born
giraffe enthralls people
visiting Alipore zoo
by Soma Mitra
Kolkata:
A large number of people and animal lovers are visiting Alipore zoo
to watch a new-born giraffe which has made the zoo a big attraction these
days. A bevy of enthusiastic visitors watched in amazement as a baby giraffe
surveyed its mother's enclosure for the first time at the zoo on Friday.
Born at Kolkata's Alipore zoo on June 9 to Shonali and Sunder, parents
of the baby giraffe, it has fascinated a lot of people. The duo were born
in captivity and brought up at the zoo. The calf, a male giraffe, is their
first offspring. With the birth of the newborn, the giraffe population
in the zoo has reached seven. "It was born on the 9th (June) about 3.30
pm in the afternoon. His mother is Shonali and his father is Sunder. Both
were born in the zoo. With this birth, we now have seven giraffe, including
this baby. This is a male. Now including this, we have four males and
three females," S.K. Chowdhury, Director of the Zoo, said. Zoo officials
say the new arrival promises to bring in a large number of visitors to
the zoo. Some lucky visitors, who made it the first day, were delighted
with seeing the newborn. Soma Chatterjee, a young mother, said he was
astonished to see how could a newborn be that tall. "We are really happy
to see him. It's just a seven-day old baby and look how tall he is. I
never thought we could see a baby giraffe. It's really nice. Even my child
enjoyed watching the giraffe," Chatterjee said. The mother-child duo is
healthy and doing fine. The baby is expected to feed on his mother's milk
for at least twenty days after which it would graduate to leaves and fruits.
The State's Wildlife Minister will formally christen the baby later this
month.
-June 17, 2006
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