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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A Salt Lake City zoo has announced the birth of a baby giraffe.
Utah's Hogle Zoo says the male was born on Thursday to first-time mother Kipenzi and father Riley; both are 6 years old.
During its first week of life the baby, still unnamed, will grow nearly one inch per day. Baby giraffes weigh about 110 pounds and can run before they are a day old.
Nancy Carpenter, Hogle Zoo associate director of animal health, says the delivery went well and the baby giraffe was working to stand shortly after birth.
Giraffes give birth after a gestation period of 14 to 15 months. Adult males are usually about 17 feet tall and weigh as much as 3,000 pounds. Their necks can measure 6 1/2 feet long.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
