CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Wednesday is World Giraffe Day and Brookfield Zoo is sharing some exciting news to celebrate.
Arnieta, a 16-year-old reticulated giraffe is expecting! Reticulated giraffes are an endangered species, so there is a lot of excitement surrounding her pregnancy.
“We are excited about the potential for Arnieta to have her first successful birth in more than 10 years,” said Dr. Mike Adkesson, president and CEO of the Chicago Zoological Society and director of Brookfield Zoo.
“And, we are proud of the collaborative efforts our dedicated teams both here at Brookfield Zoo and at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium have done to help Arnieta sustain this important pregnancy."
Brookfield Zoo veterinarians first learned Arnieta was pregnant last summer, and because of problems with past pregnancies, they've been working hard to help her deliver a healthy calf by closely monitoring her hormone levels and providing her synthetic progesterone as needed.
So far it's working and Arnieta is due to deliver sometime between mid-July and late August. That's because a giraffe's pregnancy averages between 14 and a half and 15 months.
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