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Cameron Park Zoo is excited to announce that Penelope, the zoo’s female Masai giraffe, gave birth to her first calf, a son on January 22 at 4:02 pm. The zoo’s newest giraffe weighed in at 135 lbs. and is 6 ft. tall. Born on May 9, 2013, Penelope came to Cameron Park Zoo from the San Diego Zoo. Her mate, Dane, was born on April 18, 2013. Dane came from the Santa Barbara Zoo. Their baby is the first giraffe birth in 20 years at Cameron Park Zoo and the first Masai birth. Penelope is exhibiting some difficulty in allowing the calf to nurse for extended periods of time, so Cameron Park Zoo’s Animal Care staff is closely monitoring the calf’s health in order to provide supportive care if necessary. Cameron Park Zoo will begin a naming contest for their baby giraffe on Wednesday, January 27. Check out the Zoo’s Facebook page for details. Funds raised will go to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. The Masai giraffe is the largest subspecies of giraffe and can be found in Central and Southern Kenya and in Tanzania. They have distinctive, irregular, jagged, star-like blotches that extend to the hooves. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on the conservation status of wild animals and plants, lists Masai giraffes, as endangered, primarily due to poaching and habitat fragmentation.