An exciting day at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center near Glen Rose turned urgent January 13 when a manager noticed damage to an electric pole, causing one downed wire and another to barely hang.
Fifteen minutes after a call to United Cooperative Services, a crew was beginning repairs. Soon, though, the crew needed to kill the power to finish the job.
That caused quite a stir at the giraffe barn, where Fossil Rim employees had gathered to watch a video feed of Jurz, who was on the verge of giving birth.
“They were using a hands-off approach from the animal care office and observing with our cameras in the barn,” said Louis Pienaar, a Fossil Rim co-manager of support services. “Then the power went off.”
Thirty minutes later, the lights came back on, and the staff watched Opulence enter the world. Mother and daughter are doing fine.
“We always prepare for the unexpected,” said United lineman Brad Morrow, “but when you go to Fossil Rim, you wonder what you’re dealing with.”
Did You Know?
A newborn giraffe is called a calf. Here are proper names for other newborns in the animal kingdom:
Cockroach is a nymph
Fish is a fry
Gorilla is a infant
Llama is a cria
Opossum is a joey
