Denver zoo welcomes unexpected giraffe calf

April hasn't delivered her calf yet at Animal Adventure Park in New York, but the Denver Zoo has welcomed an unexpected baby giraffe.

KCNC reported that Kipele the giraffe gave birth to a baby calf at 4 a.m. Tuesday.

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Zookeepers did not know that Kipele was expecting until recently because she was on birth control.

The calf, named Dobby, is five feet tall and weighs 73 pounds.

The Denver Post reported that Dobby's father, Dikembe, came to the Denver Zoo in February 1996 from his birthplace at the Colorado Springs, Colorado, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where he was born in December 1993. Dobby's mother, Kipele, who is 23, is the oldest giraffe at the Denver Zoo. She was born in August 1993.

"This was certainly a welcome addition to the Denver Zoo family," Brian Aucone, the Denver Zoo senior vice president for animal care and conservation, said in a statement. "Dobby may not have been a planned birth, but now that he's here, we're excited to have him and look forward to him engaging with our guests.

"Staff was monitoring Kipele overnight when she went into labor. Although the birth went well, the calf was not initially nursing. Staff fed the infant and provided critical care in his first hours of life to get him back on track. Now he's nursing and we are feeling good about his health."

There are five giraffes at the zoo.

Cox Media Group