NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – Faith is the 32nd giraffe born at the Wildlife Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas, since 1984.
The baby reticulated giraffe was born Nov. 9 weighing in at little more than 120 pounds and standing at just more than 5 feet tall.
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“We are extremely careful and thoughtful in creating a natural environment for the reticulated giraffe population to thrive,” said Tiffany Soechting, Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch animal specialist.
The breeding program at the Wildlife Ranch resulted in rare twin giraffes in 2013, the ninth known set of giraffe twins, according to WildlifeRanchTexas.com.
The reticulated giraffe population has experienced an 80 percent loss in the wild in just 15 years, with all wild giraffe species experiencing a 40 percent loss in population in the last 30 years.
“Did you know that in Africa, there are approximately 400,000 elephants, but only 97,000 giraffes? This disconnect has led to their otherwise silent extinction,” Soechting said.
Faith joins approximately 500 other animals living at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.