Ivy the baby giraffe was born at the Como Zoo in St. Paul Monday, Nov. 6 at 8:09 p.m.. By 8:48 p.m. she was standing and nursing by 9 p.m.

“They typically come out ready to rock and roll,” Senior zoo keeper Jill Erzar explains. “When they’re born, they’re ready to be on their feet because they’re considered prey animals.”

Even as a baby, Ivy measures up to about 6 ft., and her mom is about 14 1/2 ft. tall.

She’ll continue to grow to similar height with her spot pattern. Erzar explains, “That’s just like her finger print… We can actually use that to identify her the rest of her life.

Ivy’s mom Zinnia was new to the zoo in June.

“Gestation for a giraffe is about 14 to 16 months long, but each female has her window,” Erzar explains. “We were going off her behavioral cues more than anything.”

“Females live together for a long time, so most of the herd structures you see are a lot of sisters or aunties or or young females. They that’s really they’re their close knit herds.”