Houston Zoo reveals the latest baby giraffe, named after a famous Houston Rockets player, to the public this weekend
Photo credit: Stephanie Adams, Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo’s newest addition, a male Masai giraffe, will make his public debut Saturday, March 2, 2013 with his mother at The African Forest giraffe exhibit.
Mom Neema delivered the healthy male calf on Monday February 25 at the McGovern Giraffe Exhibit following a 14 month pregnancy.
The Houston Zoo’s giraffe keepers who cared for Neema through her pregnancy have named the calf Yao in honor of former Houston Rockets player Yao Ming. Working with the conservation organization WildAId, Yao Ming has led the world’s largest conservation awareness program spotlighting illegal elephant and rhino poaching in Africa and the shark fin trade in Asia. Yao toured the Zoo’s giraffe, rhino and elephant exhibits on February 14 with a group of Pasadena ISD middle school students prior to the NBA All Star game at Toyota Center.
