Baby giraffe meets his dad for the first time – reaction melts hearts

Giraffes are the tallest land animals in the world. But when it comes to their offspring, these giants also become soft, as the video from a zoo in New York shows.

At the Seneca Park Zoo in upstate New York, a baby Maasai giraffe met his father "Parker" for the first time under the watchful eye of his mother "Iggy", as seen on the official Monroe County YouTube account:

Giraffe father sees his cub for the first time

While a team of zookeepers from Seneca Park Zoo actually takes care of the giraffes, especially the giraffe calf, a camera from the zoo captured the wonderful moment of a unique encounter - and melted the hearts of the spectators.

In the video you can see how the three-member giraffe family stands together in their enclosure and enjoys what is probably the most important moment in a giraffe's life together: getting to know the generations. At first, the seemingly proud bull giraffe sniffs his little one full of curiosity, who in turn also shows great interest in his powerful father. The bull carefully examines and sniffs his cute offspring.

Did you know...

... that baby giraffes are born only after 14-15 months? Weighing about 50 kilograms, they fall to the ground from a height of up to two meters without injuring themselves. They communicate with their mother by meowing, complaining or even mooing-like noises.

In the background – inconspicuous, but always alert – the mother of the giraffe cub can be seen. She observes the events with eagle eyes. Eventually, she approaches the two of them – what happens next is heartwarming. The parents of the little baby giraffe proudly show their affection by sticking their heads very close to each other. From a lateral perspective, the shape of a heart would probably be imaginable.

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Family reunion: giraffe family meets for the first time

Although researchers know about giraffes that the animals do not normally form strong social bonds, this video proves the exception to the rule. Surrounded by his big, strong parents, the calf stands between mother and father and looks up lovingly at the two of them. While the father finally slowly moves away, the giraffe mom turns back to her baby.

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Giraffe: What makes these animals so special?

Size: up to 6 meters

Weight: up to 2 tons

Speed: around 55 km/h

Age: between 20 and 25 years

Nutrition: plant-based

Habitat: African savannah

Special features: Giraffes have a bluish tongue with which she can even rub her eyes. No wonder: after all, the tongue grows to over 50 centimeters in length.

Why does a giraffe actually have spots? For camouflage: From a distance, it looks more like a tree or part of the landscape to predators. With the help of the spots, giraffes also regulate their body temperature. The typical spots can be compared to windows through which the giraffe can transport heat to the outside.

In the comments, some users compare the cautious giraffe family with human family ties:

• "It's just like in a human family: the mother stands by the side while the father meets his baby. Then the mother joins them, kisses the father and sees if the little one is okay. ❤"
• "The moment between the parents was beautiful to see."
• "Baby giraffes are simply reduced in shape and consciousness to adult giraffes. Sweet."
• "They're so tender to each other, it's captivating. ❤❤❤"
• "It's so graceful how mom and dad got 🥺 together. What an elegant couple they are, and now with baby it's perfect. 😊"
• "I read about giraffes that the father sees the baby only once and never shows affection to the mother. I knew it was a lie. This video is so beautiful. I love the family ties. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦"

Fortunately, the new little family had plenty of time to get to know each other – and luckily for YouTube users, they were filmed by a camera.