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First Giraffe Calf Born in Iona Since Angolan Giraffes Were Reintroduced

Two juvenile Angolan giraffes running in Etosha National Park
Conservation · Reintroductions & translocations

Southern giraffes (Giraffa giraffa), represented in Iona National Park by the Angolan subspecies Giraffa giraffa angolensis, have produced their first calf since the species was reintroduced to the park. The calf was first seen beside its mother by a wildlife monitoring team in early August 2026, just over three years after the first giraffes were returned to Iona.

The young giraffe and its mother were seen again later and both appeared to be in good condition. African Parks described the birth as an important milestone for the restoration programme. The calf shows that reproduction has begun within the small reintroduced herd in its new surroundings.

Angolan giraffes were returned to Iona in 2023 and reinforced with a second translocation in 2024 through a partnership between African Parks, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Angola’s national biodiversity authorities. The reintroduction restored giraffes to part of their historical range after they had disappeared from the park during decades of conflict and ecological decline.

Sources and image credit

  1. African Parks Network. (2026, August 25). First birth of a giraffe in Angola’s Iona National Park.First-hand announcement from the park-management organisation. A calf was seen beside its mother in early August 2026 and both were later seen again in apparently good condition; African Parks describes it as Iona’s first giraffe calf since the reintroduction.
  2. Giraffe Conservation Foundation. Angolan giraffe return to Iona National Park in Angola.Primary conservation-programme page documenting the return of 14 Angolan giraffes to Iona National Park in 2023.
  3. Giraffe Conservation Foundation. Can giraffe come back to places they’ve disappeared from?GCF programme page documenting the two Iona reintroductions: 14 giraffes in July 2023 and 13 more in May 2024.

Image: Giles Laurent — juvenile Angolan giraffes running in Etosha National Park, Namibia, 30 July 2025. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative image of the same subspecies; not the Iona calf. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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