The baby giraffe's mother kept a close eye on her the entire time

May 7, 2013 20:11 GMT  ·  By

This past Friday, a baby giraffe named Sofie got the chance to take her first steps in the public eye.

The baby giraffe was born at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens towards the end of April (on April 22, to be more precise), yet she already seems confident enough to strut around in front of her fans.

Apparently, the baby giraffe was 6 feet (roughly 1.8 meters) tall when born. Zookeepers say that, according to their measurements, Sofie also weighed about 135 pounds (about 62 kilograms) at the time of her coming into this world.

Sofie's mon, i.e. Hafina, is a Masai giraffe. For those unaware, this species in native to South Africa, and currently risks falling off the biodiversity map.

This is because many people see Masai giraffes as a noteworthy food source and therefore hunt them for their meat.