Ask us a Question
Meet the Giraffes at the Houston Zoo
The giraffe family at the Houston Zoo is comprised of seven Masai giraffes, including four males and three females. Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrial animal - the average male is about 17 feet tall and can weigh 3,000 pounds, while an average female is over 14 feet tall. While Masai giraffes are not endangered in their native habitat, there are less than 100 of them in North American zoos.
 |
Asali
Asali is the newest addition to the Houston Zoo's giraffe herd and the first birth in the McGovern Giraffe Exhibit in the African Forest. She was born on March 4, 2011 to mom Tyra. She was 150 pounds at birth and stood 6 feet 6 inches tall. She is a very healthy calf and growing fast. The name means "honey" in Swahili and it's the perfect name for this sweet girl.
|
|
 |
Tyra
Tyra is the tallest female giraffe in the family - she's about 14 feet tall and about 1500 pounds. She is a caring mother, and she has currently given birth to her sixth calf on March 4, 2011.
Tyra has auburn spots on a beige background. Her smooth forehead lacks the bumps that male giraffes have.
Tyra was born on July 2, 1998 at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. She arrived here on May 18, 1999.
|
|
 |
Mtembei
Mtembei is Swahili for "He who roams the plains." Mtembei's spots are very dark, and you can also recognize his rather long, upright ossicones - that's what giraffe "horns" are called. Mtembei has a mellow personality and is a bit shy. He is almost dainty when he takes produce from the hands of keepers. Mtembei loves rainstorms and he often runs laps around the exhibit in the mud.
Mtembei was born on May 5, 2007 at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. He was transferred to the Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, 2008 and arrived here on December 10, 2009. Mtembei is currently about 14 feet tall and about 1750 pounds.
|
|
 |
Neema
Neema is the princess of the herd - she's particular about the hairstyles of her family and spends a lot of time grooming manes and ossicone hair. Neema also has a mischievous streak and loves to steal scarves and hats from keepers and visitors.
Neema's is the lightest color giraffe, with larger white areas between her spots than the others. She has bit of a sweet tooth and loves slices of carrot and sweet potato, and she's not good about eating her romaine lettuce like the other giraffes. Neema is very interested in people and likes to be close to them. She also loves to drink from the water hose.
Neema was born at the Houston Zoo on Sunday, August 12, 2007. At birth she weighed 109 pounds, and stood at 5 feet 9 inches tall. She was hand-raised by keeper staff, as mom Noel was not able to produce enough milk for her.
Here's Neema's baby pictures:
 |
|
 |
Jack
Jack is Hasani's big brother, who he sometimes pals around with. He is one of Neema's favorite hairdressing targets, so you might see his mane wet from her grooming. You might also recognize him by the jagged spots on his backside.
Jack is named after Dr. John (Jack) P. McGovern who passed away in 2007; he and his wife Kathy have been generous supporters of the zoo.
Here's Jack as a newborn:
|
|
|
Miles
Miles is currently the smallest of the herd, outpaced in growth by his younger half-brother Hasani. It's not due to a lack of appetite though - Miles can eat anytime, and chomps on hay, veggies, and pellets with equal enthusiasm - he's not a picky eater.
Miles was born on January 30, 2009. His mom Noel did not produce enough milk for him, so he was bottle-fed by attentive zookeepers, some of whom spent the night at the zoo to provide round-the-clock feedings and care for Miles.
Miles gets along well with everyone in the herd, and he has a lot of affection for his keepers. In fact he wears his heart on his sleeve, or rather his neck - look closely and you can see a heart-shaped spot on the left side.
Here's Miles just after he was born:
|
|
|
|
||
 |
Hasani
Hasani means "handsome" in Swahili, and it's the perfect name for this beautiful growing boy. Hasani was born on August 10, 2009 to mom Tyra and dad Kiva. He was a big baby, over six feet tall at birth! At Hasani's first birthday he weighed about 1000 pounds.
Hasani is Tyra's most outgoing calf, probably because from the start he had Miles as a buddy! Hasani followed him around as Miles interacted with the keepers.
Here's a few pics of Hasani right after he was born:
|
|
The Zoo relies on donations from our friends for the care and feeding of our animals. To make a gift in honor of our giraffe family, click here:
Giraffe breeding at the Houston Zoo follows guidelines established by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s Population Management Plan (PMP) program. PMPs have been developed for selected groups of animals to manage breeding of captive populations in order to maintain healthy, self-sustaining populations that are both genetically diverse and demographically stable.
