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Note: Description below should include Longevity, Behavior, and Reproduction information
Gus the giraffe may be from the heart of Texas, but he is now officially a Philadelphian, as the newest resident of the Philadelphia Zoo.
Gus, born in Tyler, Texas at the Caldwell Zoo, turns two on July 8. He joins seven-year-old female Stella.
Christine Bartos, the Zoo’s Curator of Ungulates, led Gus’s greeting party recently as his giraffe-height trailer was moved into place at the giraffe quarters. “Gus was really calm, sticking his nose out to get a sniff of his new surroundings. We called him by name and he just walked right over, full of confidence,” she said.
Bartos said Gus was a staff and visitor favorite in Texas. “He feeds out of your hand and doesn’t mind being the center of attention,” she commented. “We are very lucky to have him join our Zoo family.” She noted that Gus comes to the Zoo as part of the breeding program sponsored by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). As soon as Gus adjusts to his new surroundings and has passed initial veterinary exams, he’ll be out and about at the Zoo’s African Plains.