Brevard Zoo shared an ultrasound video of expectant giraffe Tisa, offering the public a glimpse inside one of two pregnancies unfolding at the Melbourne facility this year. Tisa is due to have a calf soon, while fellow Masai giraffe Kumi is also expecting, with her calf originally expected to arrive before the end of summer.
The footage was captured by Expedition Africa Senior Keeper Cindy and Director of Veterinary Programs Rachel, according to Brevard Zoo on Facebook. Tisa, a Masai giraffe born at the Virginia Zoo in 2022, relocated to Brevard Zoo in 2023, where she was paired with male giraffe Mapenzi under a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, according to Brevard Zoo. Kumi, a 12-year-old long-term resident of the zoo's Expedition Africa habitat, was also paired with Mapenzi, and the zoo first announced her pregnancy in January, placing her birthing window in the summer based on a typical 13-to-15-month gestation cycle, per Space Coast Daily.
A Sire's Own Birth Echoes Through the Herd
Both anticipated calves were fathered by Mapenzi, a male Masai giraffe born at Brevard Zoo in 2020, making these upcoming births the zoo's first giraffe deliveries since his own birth six years earlier, Space Coast Daily reports. Mapenzi was paired with the two female giraffes at the facility under national breeding guidelines. The second calf, Tisa's, is expected to arrive in fall.
Caretakers monitor the expectant giraffes using regular ultrasounds, blood tests, and customized diets while watching for physical indicators of labor such as restlessness, inappetence, and teat development, according to Curator of Animals Kim Castrucci, as reported by FOX 35 Orlando. Staff first confirmed the pregnancies after observing weight gain and behavioral changes in the animals.
Banking Antibodies Ahead of Two First-Time Births
Ahead of the arrivals, the zoo is preparing to support the first-time mothers. Tisa participates in voluntary blood draws through positive-reinforcement training.
Giraffe calves are among the largest newborn mammals, typically weighing 150 pounds and standing 6 feet tall at birth before making a 6-foot drop to the ground that breaks the umbilical cord and stimulates breathing, according to the zoo. Newborn calves are typically expected to stand and walk within an hour of birth. Following delivery, mother giraffes and their calves will remain in behind-the-scenes maternity quarters for bonding and medical exams before care teams determine when to introduce them to the herd and the guest-facing veldt, with herd introductions guided entirely by mother and calf behaviors.
Why the Births Matter Beyond Melbourne
The pregnancies carry conservation weight because Masai giraffes are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, with wild populations in Tanzania and Kenya declining by approximately 50% over 30 years, with poaching and habitat loss or fragmentation among the threats, leaving fewer than 44,000 individuals in the wild, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. Masai giraffes are distinguished by their dark, jagged vine-leaf patterned spots. The Species Survival Plan managed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums aims to maintain a healthy, genetically diverse safeguard population, coordinating pairings like Mapenzi's across North American institutions.
Central Florida's climate also factors into how the zoo protects its African megafauna. During rare winter freeze events, when temperatures can drop into the 20s, Brevard Zoo protocols require shifting all giraffes, rhinos, and zebras out of outdoor habitats and into climate-controlled, heated barns, according to FOX 35 Orlando. For now, keepers are focused on the more immediate task of watching Tisa and Kumi for signs that labor is near, with the calves expected sometime between fall and winter, meaning births could occur during winter.
