Baby twin giraffes born in China zoo
By IANSFriday, December 17, 2010
BEIJING - A giraffe at a zoo in northern China has given birth to the country’s first pair of giraffe twins.
The mother, named Bei Bei, delivered the male giraffe twins Thursday at the zoo in Shijiazhuang city, the capital of Hebei province, Xinhua reported.
“The calves, 1.8 and 1.9 meters tall, were able to stand and walk,” Wang Wanhua, deputy head of the zoo, said at a press conference Friday. It was Bei Bei’s second delivery.
“She could not lie down for a week due to her bulging abdomen prior to the delivery,” Wang said.
“At the beginning, it was thought the mother might have a difficult labour, but she managed to deliver the twins an hour-and-a-half later, assisted by zoo workers,” he said.
Zhang Chenglin, director of the veterinary hospital of Beijing Zoo, said
the calves were the first pair of giraffes born in China. Giraffe twin births are considered rare.
