In a bid to keep the youngster healthy, senior head keeper at the zoo, Matthew Webb said that she drinks “at least one litre of milk at every fee” and considering she needs to be fed at least four times a day, that is a lot of milk.
"She took two litres of milk from me on Tuesday morning and has since started feeding very well, gulping down at least one litre of milk at every feed, so she is getting the hang of it,” said Matthew.
The calf, who arrived on 11th January, was born weighting almost ten stone and is already nearly six foot tall so it's no surprise she needs so much milk.
Caring for the youngster sounds like it’s a tough job, as Matthew says: "We need about four to six litres of gold top milk each day. She will take in around 10 per cent of her body weight in milk each day and gain weight just as quickly. She was 63 kilogrammes – 139 pounds or 9.9 stone – at birth, but as she grows, so will her milk requirements.”
For now Janica’s calf is separated from the rest of the herd to help her get the hang of feeding and “allow her to bond with the keepers so she feels comfortable enough to feed from them” but she will be reintroduced as soon as possible so, as Matthew says, “she doesn’t forget she is a giraffe.”
Such a sad start to life, it seems the giraffe is doing really well.
