The baby giraffe, as yet unnamed, weighed 152 lbs. and measured 75 in. tall at birth. Since giraffes give birth standing up, their newborns can drop up to 6 ft. during the birthing process—but within a few hours, the calf was on his feet and walking around. So far, mother and son both seem to be healthy.
The zoo says Billy is a “genetically important” father for the Masai giraffe species, and the birth is significant for the giraffe population in North America, which is just over 100. The Masai is the tallest mammal species on Earth, and as a male, this newborn can expect to grow 18 ft. tall.
Celebrate Mother’s Day With These Photos of Adorable Baby Animals and Their Moms
A six month old female baby koala sits on her mother's head on January 22, 2014 at the zoo in Duisburg, Germany. Roland Weihrauch—AFP/Getty ImagesA baby and mother Snow Leopard, at Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on Nov. 14, 2013. Raymond Boyd—Getty ImagesA gray langur mother named Sally holds her baby in its enclosure in Berlin's Zoo on February 21, 2014 in Berlin.Johannes Eisele—AFP/Getty ImagesA newborn sea lion and its mother are seen at Marineland in Nice, France on July 17, 2013.Valery Hache—AFP/Getty ImagesGiant panda cub, Bao Bao, right, interacts with her mother, Mei Xiang, left, at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park on Tuesday January 07, 2014 in Washington, DC.Matt McClain—The Washington Post/Getty ImagesA newborn Hartmann's Mountain zebra with his mother in the Zoo of the Parc de la Tete d'Or in Lyon. France on October 31, 2013.Alexander Roth-Grisard—Getty ImagesThree six-month old Indian white tiger cubs are pictured with their mother Sameera, right, at their enclosure at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad, India on March 29, 2014.Noah Seelam—AFP/Getty ImagesRecently hatched cygnets sit with their mother in a nest at Abbotsbury Swannery on May 23, 2013 near Weymouth, England. Matt Cardy—Getty ImagesTwin polar bear cubs stand with their mother Giovanna in their enclosure at Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich, March 19, 2014. Michael Dalder—ReutersA white donkey foal walks with his mother Anuschka in his enclosure at the West Coast park in St. Peter-Ording, Germany on September 09, 2012. Wolfgang Runge—AFP/GettyImagesA mother giraffe licks her 20-day old calf at the Alipore Zoological Garden in Kolkata, India on June 10, 2013.Dibyangshu Sarkar—AFP/Getty ImagesBaby ring-tailed lemurs cling onto their mother at the Japan Monkey Centre on April 19, 2014 in Inuyama, Aichi, Japan. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty ImagesA Java mouse-deer cub, one of the world's smallest hoofed animals, and its mother at the Fuengirola Biopark, near Malaga, Spain on April 25, 2014.Jorge Guerrero—AFP/Getty ImagesLalana, a newborn Asian elephant calf nurses from her mother at the Safari zoo in Ramat Gan, Israel on October 13, 2013.Uriel Sinai—Getty ImagesA two week-old Eastern Bongo calf stands beside her mother at Sydney's Taronga Zoo on April 13, 2012. William West—AFP/Getty ImagesOne month-old baby mandrill Aron clings to his mother Sandra in their cage at Berlin's Zoologischer Garten zoo on September 28, 2012.John Macdougall—AFP/Getty ImagesA 9-day old hippo tries to walk helped by its mother at the Chapultepec Zoo, in Mexico City, on March 5, 2014. Ronaldo Schemidt—AFP/Getty ImagesA newly born spotted hyena baby is cleaned by its mother at the Animal Garden in Szeged, Hungary on March 17, 2014.Csaba Segesvari—AFP/Getty ImagesA baby Gibbon and its mother at the Doue La-Fontaine zoo in France on October 26, 2012.Alain Jocard—AFP/Getty ImagesSpectacled bear mother Cashu stands next to one of her babies on April 17, 2014 at the zoo in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.Boris Roessler—AFP/Getty Images
