Kentucky’s Louisville Zoo says giraffe, zebra babies coming soon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky zoo will soon welcome two new bundles of joy.

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According to WLKY-TV, the Louisville Zoo announced Sunday that mothers Azizi, a Hartmann’s mountain zebra, and Kianga, a Masai giraffe, will be giving birth in the coming weeks.

Zoo officials said Azizi’s foal, who was fathered by Gibbs, is due sometime this month, according to the attraction’s website. Kianga and father Baridi are expected to welcome their calf in May or June, the zoo said.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources considers mountain zebras vulnerable. An estimated 34,979 mature mountain zebras remain in the wild, but their population is increasing, according to the organization’s website.

Masai giraffes, meanwhile, are considered endangered. Fewer than 35,000 mature Masai giraffes live in the wild, and their population is decreasing, according to the IUCN Red List.

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