Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is doing something it has never done before: livestreaming an animal birth. Tessa could give birth at any moment, and when she does, it will mark a first in the zoo's nearly 150-year history of giraffe milestones.
The zoo announced on Wednesday that it will livestream an animal birth for the first time in its history, with cameras trained on both the indoor and outdoor giraffe habitats so viewers can catch the moment whenever it comes. Tessa is due this month and could give birth at any moment. As WKRC reports, the zoo plans to carry the stream on YouTube and will keep fans updated on social media throughout the process.
Tessa's age has been reported two different ways: October coverage from WKRC describes her as a 20-year-old mother, while the zoo's own March announcement identified her as a 19-year-old female giraffe. Either way, the calf on the way will be Tessa's fifth, and the station's report notes it is likely to be her last.
A Birth Decades in the Making for the Zoo's Giraffe Program
Cincinnati Zoo general manager Dave Janicki said the livestream may inspire people to care about animals and the future of giraffes in the wild, per WKRC's reporting.
The calf's father is a five-year-old giraffe named Zeke, with the pairing recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Giraffe Species Survival Plan, according to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The zoo has said it looks forward to eventually doubling the size of its herd once Giraffe Tower opens in the next couple of years, part of a broader push to grow its giraffe program.
The Cincinnati Zoo became the first zoo to live-tweet a giraffe birth back in 2012, according to cincinnati.com. In 1889, it became home to the first giraffe calf born in a zoo in the Western Hemisphere.
Naming Rights, Adoption Donations and the Wider Conservation Stakes
Once the calf arrives, the zoo will offer a $20 giraffe adoption opportunity, and WKRC reports that one giraffe adopter will be chosen to name the newborn. Cincinnati.com adds that donations tied to the program will support giraffe care and the zoo's giraffe conservation efforts, giving the public a direct stake in the calf's future beyond just watching the livestream.
Janicki's comments about inspiring concern for giraffes in the wild reflect a reality conservationists have flagged for years. Giraffes are considered vulnerable in the wild, per WKRC, and the zoo's own announcement notes that its partnership with the Wild Nature Institute has, since 2014, supported scientific research on wild giraffes in Tanzania along with community science and coexistence initiatives, according to the zoo's statement. Separately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said the population for the three subspecies of northern giraffe has declined approximately 77% since 1985, falling from 25,653 to 5,919 individuals. A 2025 report from Science, however, found that populations of northern, reticulated and southern giraffes are increasing, while Maasai giraffe numbers remain stable, illustrating how mixed the picture is across different giraffe subspecies.
Cincinnati Joins a Short List of Zoos That Have Streamed Giraffe Births
Cincinnati's livestream follows a format that made national headlines nearly a decade ago, when a giraffe named April drew massive attention during a livestreamed pregnancy and delivery at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, in 2017. That stream, according to The Guardian, drew more than 232 million views and 7.6 billion minutes of live watch time over several months. April had another calf, Azizi, in March 2019, with more than 300,000 people tuning in live on YouTube for that birth as well, the outlet reported.
Other zoos have marked their own giraffe milestones without the same livestream spectacle. Brevard Zoo, for instance, welcomed a nearly 6-foot-tall female giraffe calf named Gail, born to 12-year-old mother Kumi and 6-year-old father Mapenzi, according to Brevard Zoo. Cincinnati Zoo's decision to go live for Tessa's birth puts it in rare company, and with her due date already here, viewers may not have to wait long to find out if the moment lives up to the hype.
