Baby Ella has given Berlin zoo keepers more than one reason to be happy.
On just her second outing on a cold autumn day, the two-week-old calf showed off her life-saving wild instincts to run before you can walk and added a notch to the depleting number of Rothschild giraffes.
Born at Berlin’s Tierpark zoo to mother Amalka on Nov. 3, Ella is a vital addition to the species being bred in Germany in an attempt to create a reserve population against shrinking numbers in the wild.
Native to Africa and now found only in Kenya and Uganda, the Rothschild giraffe is on the red list of species on the brink of extinction and has seen its numbers reduced by 40 percent over the last 30 years.
The Rothschild giraffe can grow up to 6 meters tall and in the wild can live up to 20 years.
Ella is part of an 8-giraffe herd at the Tierpark. For now, she stays mainly in the warmth of the indoor stall with an hour outside each day to practice her skittering skills.
