Is There A Baby Giraffe At Busch Gardens

Monday, June 22, 2020

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay just welcomed a new baby giraffe

Posted By on Mon, Jun 22, 2020 at 4:10 PM

click to enlarge SCREENSHOT BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY/FACEBOOK

Screenshot Busch Gardens Tampa Bay/Facebook

A baby reticulated giraffe was recently born at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

After a 15-month long pregnancy, Bea, a 14-year old reticulated giraffe, gave birth to the yet-to-be-named male calf on Friday, June 19, and will bond with the baby over the next few months before they join the herd in the park's Serengeti Plain.

This is now Bea's third calf, joining Binty in 2014, and Amani in 2015. The last giraffe born at Busch Gardens was Patty, who arrived just before St. Patrick's Day in 2018.

click to enlarge SCREENSHOT BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY/FACEBOOK

Screenshot Busch Gardens Tampa Bay/Facebook

Reticulated giraffes are native to the Horn of Africa, and due to habitat loss and poaching, populations have decreased by an estimated 50 percent over the last 30 years, reports Smithsonian.

After months of being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Busch Gardens and Adventure Island both reopened on June 11, with new rules, including mandatory masks.

This story originally appeared in our sister paper Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
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Tags: Tampa Bay, theme parks, coronavirus, COVID-19, Orange County Florida, public health, safety, reopening, animals, wildlife, Image

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