Giraffe Gestation Period: How Long Is a Giraffe Pregnant?

How long is a giraffe pregnant?

A giraffe carries her calf for an average of 430 days, or about 14 months. Counting from the breeding date, calving is normal anywhere from day 400 to day 460.

Key checkpoints across the 430-day giraffe gestation, measured in days from breeding:

Estimate your giraffe's calving date

Enter the breeding date for an estimated calving date at 430 days.

Giraffe gestation stages, month by month

Signs a giraffe is pregnant

• Ultrasound or faecal hormone monitoring confirms pregnancy from about three months
• Gradual broadening of the abdomen, obvious only in the last five months
• Udder development from roughly two months before calving
• Movement becomes slower and she lies down more in the final weeks

Signs of approaching calving

• She separates from the herd and becomes restless in the final day
• Visible straining with the calf's front feet appearing first, delivered standing
• Contact your vet if labour stalls, if the animal strains without progress, or if there is abnormal discharge before calving begins.

What affects giraffe gestation length

• Giraffes carry for about 453 days — roughly 15 months — and give birth standing up, so the calf drops around two metres to the ground.
• That fall is functional: the impact breaks the amniotic sac and shocks the calf into taking its first breath.
• Newborns are about 1.8 metres tall and 50 to 70 kg, and they can stand within 30 minutes and run within a day.
• Giraffes have no fixed breeding season and can conceive year round, but births cluster in the dry season in parts of their range.
• Females often return to the same calving grounds they were born in, and calves are later left in loose 'crèche' groups watched over by one or two adults.
• Around half of wild giraffe calves are lost to predation in the first six months, which is why calving in cover and rapid mobility matter so much.

Giraffe gestation chart

Every fifth breeding date across the year with the matching calving date, calculated at 430 days. Find the row closest to the date the giraffe was served; because normal gestation spans 400 to 460 days, plan for a window of a few days either side. Filter by month, or print the chart for the barn wall or breeding record: navigation, buttons and adverts are hidden on paper.

Sources for giraffe gestation figures

Figures on this page are drawn from zoo giraffe breeding records, published giraffe reproduction studies and field research from African populations, and checked against the references below. Averages describe healthy animals under normal management; individual animals vary, and nothing here replaces advice from your vet.

• Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) — species husbandry and animal care manuals
• Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute — species fact sheets
• Published zoological studies of captive births