PREVIEW

A rare two-week-old giraffe calf has kicked up her heels on her first outdoor adventure. The leggy newcomer has stepped out for the first time at Chester Zoo alongside new mum Orla, dad Meru and the other eight Rothschild giraffes in the herd. Zookeepers have revealed the not-so-little-youngster, who already stands at more than 6ft tall and weighs 100kg to be female and have named her ‘Edie’ (pronounced e-dee). Rothschild’s giraffes are one of the world’s most at-risk mammals, with just 2,500 remaining on the planet. Conservationists at the zoo say Edie is an ‘important addition’ to the international conservation breeding programme, which is working to secure the future of the species. The Rothschild’s giraffe has been almost totally eradicated from Kenya, Uganda and Sudan as a result of habitat loss and hunting for their meat. The species now only survives in small, isolated populations – making them one of the most endangered subspecies of giraffe on Earth.