© 2026 ABC News

Video captured by the zoo Wednesday showed mama and baby bonding and cuddling. Kivuli could be seen standing watch as the calf ran about, growing accustomed to his home. The baby giraffe stood about five feet tall and weighed about 150 pounds, zoo officials said. The calf could eventually grow to a height of 16 to 18 feet tall.

“The calf appears strong and healthy, all legs and very curious,” said Scott Carter, Detroit Zoological Society chief life sciences officer, in a statement. “Kivuli is showing great maternal care; she’s very attentive and affectionate.”

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/US/touching-moment-baby-giraffe-bonded-mother/story?id=25910298","legacySlug":"/news/story/touching-moment-baby-giraffe-bonded-mother-25910298","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"08:09","publishDate":"10-02-2014","updatedTime":"11:44","updatedDate":"10-02-2014","socialImage":{"alt":"A baby giraffe bonds with his mother, Oct. 1, 2014 at the Detroit Zoo.","credit":"Detroit Zoo","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/HT_BABY_GIRAFFE_141002_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"10/2/2014 08:09:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":25910298,"headline":"AC","mediaAssetTitle":"GOOD_GIRAFFE_141002","description":"The calf pranced around as his mama watched.","duration":"NaN:NaN","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{},"playlist":["25275846","23303237","132488083"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"September 5, 2014","headline":"What Happens When Two Giraffes Are Spotted in a Cornfield","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/giraffes-walk-cornfield-25275846","id":25275846,"image":{"alt":"What Happens When Two Giraffes Are Spotted in a Cornfield","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Lifestyle/BwyYzMeIQAA_X_j_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Twitter/tractorpal_app","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 12, 2014","headline":"Fifty Lions Face Starvation at Crimean Safari Park","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/fifty-lions-face-starvation-crimean-safari-park-23303237","id":23303237,"image":{"alt":"Fifty Lions Face Starvation at Crimean Safari Park","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/AP_Crimea_Taigan_Safari_lions_jt_140412_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Alexander Polegenko/AP Photo","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 29, 2026","headline":"Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","section":"News","slug":"/video/132488083","id":"132488083","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"AC","description":"The calf pranced around as his mama watched.","duration":"NaN:NaN","uploadDate":"10-02-2014","publication":"10-02-2014","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/touching-moment-baby-giraffe-bonded-mother-25910298"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"AC","pubTime":"04:09","pubDate":"10-02-2014","modTime":"07:44","modDate":"10-02-2014","taxonomyTags":"none","id":25910298,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"AC","mediaAssetTitle":"GOOD_GIRAFFE_141002","videoId":25910298,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/touching-moment-baby-giraffe-bonded-mother-25910298"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/25910298","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/25910298","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};