The two giraffes that were born last spring take their last giant bottles. Both have been fed “by hand” completely normally by their caregivers during these 10 months, which has been a success for the park's technical team.
Thursday, February 19, 2014. Almost 10 months have passed since the young giraffe Bulería gave birth to her first calf, Triana. At that moment and given her mother's refusal to breastfeed her, the Bioparc technical team He started the device to feed her with bottles. Shortly after, just a month later, another pure giraffe of the Baringo subspecies was born, which also required being raised in the same way. It was not the first time that this had happened at BIOPARC so, although it is always a challenge to feed animals with this diet, there was already experience and a qualified team.
Both calves were born with 50 kilos of weight each and from the first days they were given 5 “giant” bottles a day. This is because until they reach approximately 100 kilos in weight, they need to drink an amount of milk equivalent to 10% of their weight, which usually takes about 6 weeks. From there, they are given 9 liters a day divided into 4 bottles until they are 5 months old. From that moment on, feedings are gradually reduced until it is time to wean. The guideline followed is as follows: from 5 to 7 months 3 bottles a day, from 7 to 9 months 2 and from 9 to 10 months it is reduced to a single feeding per day. Thus, between 10 and 11 months is the time of weaning which should be carried out with mild temperatures, avoiding it coinciding with a cold moment to guarantee your well-being.
In addition to milk, From the 8th week, some alfalfa and hay began to be included in their diet. which is progressively increasing. Everything has been working perfectly and it cannot be ruled out that the fact that both giraffes have shared this time and the aforementioned rituals, which include large doses of affection from the Bioparc team, have had a very favorable influence. It is endearing to see how they both receive food from their caregivers at the same time.
Their trip outside was also carried out without any inconvenience and for some time now we have seen them running perfectly integrated into the group. It is surprising to imagine that these animals, already so tall, are still feeding on their giant bottles.
The Rothschild or Baringo subspecies to which both belong is distributed in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. They are one of the species of giraffes in serious danger of extinction with a wild population that continues to decline each year, so these offspring are very important in the future survival of their species. Bioparc Valencia leads playback participating in his European breeding program (EEP).
The reproductive group is made up of a male, Julius, who is almost 6 meters tall and has an imposing appearance, and the females Zora and Bulería, pure Baringo, who arrived “ex profeso” to safeguard the species and they are the mothers of the two calves that will soon be weaned.
