Wellington Zoo’s Baby Giraffe Nia

Today, as promised last week, some sweet captures of Wellington Zoo’s baby giraffe Nia.

In the first photograph you will see the Nia who was born in December 2023. From this picture you will not be able to guess at her size at all but, like every giraffe she has a unique neck pattern of spots which is how staff tell them apart.

According to Wellington Zoo, due to a rapidly falling population in the last few decades, these beautiful animals are now classed as ‘vulnerable to extinction‘ due to issues like habitat loss and illegal hunting. The thought of no Giraffes is too terrible to think about.

• You can help protect their wild homes by purchasing sustainable timber and paper products marked with the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) logo.

In these photographs you can see how small Nia actually is as she stands beside Sunny the male giraffe. He was very protective of his small family member and I think this was because the fine weather had brought a lot of families to the zoo.

Giraffes spend up to 20 hours a day feeding, but you’re unlikely to catch them sleeping it off – Giraffes sleep the least of any mammal, and only need between 10 minutes and two hours of sleep each day.

Wellington Zoo

A favourite giraffe capture is this one. It’s almost as if Nia and Sunny are posing sweetly for the camera isn’t it? The charm of giraffes, their grace and beauty captures the heart and I always stop to take photographs of them before exploring the Zoo further.

Giraffe Portrait Settings (DSLR)

• ISO 200
• 200 mm
• f8
• 1/320

This last image below shows baby giraffe Nia and Sunny wandering up the enclosure’s slope and still the adult is looking after the small giraffe.

Thursday Post Delay

This week’s Thursday post got derailed by Toulouse falling ill. He is on the road to recovery and I will report on what happened next Thursday along with some lovely portraits of the boy.