Can't wait for April? Six Flags debuts 3 baby giraffes

WABC logo
Friday, March 3, 2017
Baby giraffe ventures out of barn for 1st time
Photo: (left) Xena; (right) Xena and mom Georgia; Video: 2-year-old Mika ventures out of barn with mom Noel (also Charly's mother)

JACKSON, New Jersey (WABC) -- If you can't wait for April to give birth at a New York zoo, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, is debuting three female baby giraffes.

Xena, Eddie and Charly have all been born since August 2016, and guests can see the babies on the Safari Off Road Adventure beginning April 1.

Xena was born in January to mom Georgia, Eddie in November 2016 to mom Priscilla, and Charly in August to mom Noel, who is also the mother of 2-year-old Mika (pictured below and in the video above).

Giraffe gestation lasts approximately 13 to 15 months, with typically one calf born at approximately 150 to 200 pounds.

Mothers give birth standing up, and newborn calves typically stand approximately 6 feet tall.

Full-grown female giraffes stand approximately 16 feet tall and weigh approximately 1,800 pounds.

Six Flags' giraffes are reticulated giraffes, also known as Somali giraffes, and are native to northeastern Kenya, southern Ethiopia and Somalia. They possess a distinctive coat pattern featuring red-brown polygonal patches divided by thin white lines.