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SALT LAKE CITY — There's a new giraffe that calls Utah's Hogle Zoo home.
Meet Willow, born on Jan. 13 at the zoo. Willow already stands at 6 feet tall and weighs around 125 pounds, the zookeepers estimate.
When born, the giraffe was immediately cleaned up by her mother Pogo, and Willow was standing up nursing within the hour. Riley, Willow's father, returned to Hogle Zoo after a brief stay at Oregon Zoo while construction of the new African Savanna was completed.
"We are very excited to have a baby giraffe. She is absolutely precious," said Holly Peterson, giraffe keeper at Hogle Zoo. "Her mom is doing such a great job with her. She's protective and attentive, and Riley is also curious about the little one. He'll stick his head over from the neighboring stall to sniff her."
The zoo said Willow and mom are doing great, spending the last week bonding. The giraffes will not greet the public, however, until the weather warms up a bit.
"Willow has some other neighbors to meet," said Erica Hansen, Community Relations Coordinator at Hogle Zoo. "She has to get used to some of the other sounds out there — the zebras, the ostrich. So she's got a lot of discovering to do."
Hogle Zoo said giraffes have been an important part of the zoo since 1969, and the zoo is proud of the 17 successful giraffe births over that time period.
"I believe we have the second-oldest giraffe, 'auntie' Daphne, and the youngest giraffe, Willow, in the country," said Peterson. "And our other females, the aunties, are doing great with Willow. They seek her out to sniff and lick her. It's awesome."
