Giraffe up. The calf emerges head and front legs first, having broken through the fetal membranes, and falls to the ground, severing the umbilical cord. The mother then grooms the newborn and helps it stand up. A newborn giraffe is tall. Within a few hours of birth, the calf can run around and is almost indistinguishable from a one-week-old. However, for the first 1–3 weeks, it spends most of its time hiding; its coat pattern providing camouflage. The ossicones, which have lain flat while it was in the womb, become erect within a few days. Mothers with calves will gather in
Nubian giraffe Nubian giraffes live in the wild, 1,500 of those of the Rothschild's ecotype. The Nubian giraffe is, due to the introduction of the Rothschild's giraffe into its subspecies, is one of the most common giraffe types present in captivity, in conjunction with the reticulated giraffe. However, the original phenotype is rare, as the Al Ain Zoo from the United Arab Emirates is the only known zoo outside of Africa to be breeding the endangered original phenotype. The Nubian giraffe is also breeding in captivity in Giza Zoo from Egypt. Nubian giraffe The Nubian giraffe ("Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis") is the nominate