Little Henri’s outdoor adventure

Keeping close to his mother Amalka (6), the giraffe calf hesitantly follows the rest of the herd outside, stepping onto grass for the very first time. After getting a pep talk from his big sister Ella (18 months), he quickly overcomes his initial trepidation and is soon blithely galloping around. Today, the youngest member of Berlin’s giraffe family was also given a name. “The name Henri frequently came up among the hundreds of suggestions we received,” says Ulrich Schiller, CEO of housing association HOWOGE, the giraffe herd’s longstanding sponsor. “We chose it because it’s short, snappy and goes well with his sister’s name, Ella. We are delighted about the sprightly new arrival and are proud to continue to support Tierpark Berlin’s efforts to protect these fascinating animals.”

In the wild, giraffes live on the African savannah. Once the majestic animals roamed far and wide across the continent, but now they are found only in isolated parts of sub-Saharan Africa. “The greatest threats facing giraffes are poaching and loss of habitat,” explains Zoo and Tierpark Director Dr Andreas Knieriem. “We are very pleased to be able to count on the support of a reliable partner like HOWOGE in our conservation work.”

Background
On 5 June 2020, around one and a half years after the birth of her first calf, Ella, and following a gestation period of around 15 months, Rothschild giraffe Amalka gave birth to a male calf. As is normal for giraffes, father Jabulani (8) is not involved in the rearing of the calf. Four other giraffes live at Tierpark Berlin alongside Amalka, Jabulani, Ella and Henri. Since 2016, giraffes have been classified as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the past 30 years, their numbers have decreased by almost 40 percent. Berlin’s zoos are therefore supporting the efforts of the Wild Nature Institute to protect giraffes in Tanzania. One of the institute’s many projects is an education programme that raises awareness among schoolchildren of the threat facing these fascinating creatures.