New Arrival
Century the giraffe is just two years old. He arrived from Longleat Safari Park at 9.30pm on Monday evening, to the delight of all of the staff at Colchester Zoo. He was introduced to Kofie and Edmund immediately and keepers were delighted with how quickly he seemed to settle into his stable. He was instantly greeted by Edmund who has begun to create a bond with him already.
Century was born at Longleat Safari Park on the 23rd of January 2006, and was named Century as he was the 100th giraffe to be born there. He is a Rothschild or Baringo Giraffe which is a new sub-species of giraffe to Colchester Zoo which is a milestone in being able to breed giraffes here at Colchester Zoo. Century has moved to Colchester Zoo on recommendation of the EEP breeding programme that he is a part of. It is very much hoped that when he is a little older he will be able to start his own new line in the carefully constructed breeding programme that he belongs to. It is hoped that we will be able to move a female Rothschild giraffe into the park in the future so that they can make a new breeding pair for the highly endangered species.
The Rothschild Giraffe, named after Tring Zoological Museum's founder, Lord Walter Rothschild, is also known as the Baringo Giraffe, after the Lake Baringo area of Kenya, or as the Ugandan Giraffe, is the second most endangered giraffe subspecies with only a few hundred members. In fact the Rothschild or Baringo giraffe is the second most endangered subspecies of giraffe in the world, with all of those left in the wild living in protected areas in Kenya and Uganda.
Rothschild Giraffes are easily distinguishable from other subspecies. The most obvious sign is in the colouring of the coat, or pelt. Where the Reticulated Giraffe (the sub-species that our giraffe Edmund is) has very clearly defined dark patches with bright whitish channels between them, the Rothschild Giraffe more closely resembles the Masai Giraffe. In addition, the Rothschild Giraffe displays no markings on the lower leg, giving the impression that it is wearing white stockings!
Another distinguishing feature of the Rothschild Giraffe, although harder to spot, is the number of horns on the head. This is the only subspecies to be born with five 'horns'. Two of these are 'true' horns at the top of the head, in common with all giraffes. The third 'horn' can often be seen in the centre of the giraffe's forehead and the other two behind each ear. They are also taller than many other subspecies, measuring up to six metres tall (20 ft).
Zoo Days Channel 5, Weekdays 6.30pm
Meet all the animals from Colchester Zoo on Zoo Days until Friday 6th July. It is presented by former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq and takes viewers behind the scenes to reveal what it takes to run one of the UK's busiest zoos. It will show you much exclusive footage of things that even some zoo staff don't get to see - such as the preparations