Baby Love

It's a girl: Houston Zoo welcomes larger-than-life newborn to giraffe herd

The Houston Zoo welcomed a bouncing baby girl on Monday.

Weighing in at a whopping 160 pounds and standing at a towering 6-foot-3-inches, the larger-than-life female Masai giraffe was delivered by first-time mom, Asali, at the Houston Zoo’s McGovern Giraffe Habitat after three hours of labor.

“It’s always exciting when we have a new baby at the zoo, and when that baby is more than six feet tall, it’s an incredible moment,” said Houston Zoo Hoofed Stock Supervisor John Register in a statement.

Giraffe pregnancies average 14 to 15 months with female Masai giraffes expected to grow as tall as 14 feet.

The honor of naming the newest member of the Zoo herd will go to Jim Postl, Houston Zoo board of directors’ member, who won the naming rights during the live auction at the 2015 Zoo Ball.

A giraffe at the Houston Zoo has died after a brief but aggressive illness.

The birth brought happiness to the giraffe herd and zoo officials, who had mourned the death of Neema, an 8-year-old Masai giraffe, who passed away in May from an intestinal disease.

Over the last decade, the number of giraffes in the wild has dropped by 40 percent with less than 80,000 giraffes remaining. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, there are currently slightly over 100 Masai giraffes living in 28 North American zoos. The Houston Zoo is home to nine.

After a few days bonding with her mother, the new calf will make her public debut. Until then, you can see the newborn giraffe here at CultureMap in the photos above.

The new baby giraffe weighed in at a whopping 160 pounds.

Houston, Houston Zoo, September 2015, baby giraffe

Photo by Stephanie Adams/Houston Zoo

The new baby giraffe weighed in at a whopping 160 pounds.

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landing scuttled

Nonprofit Houston news outlet will shutter after only 2 years

Houston skyline

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Amid financial challenges, the nonprofit Houston Landing online news outlet plans to shut down by mid-May.

In an April 15 announcement posted on its website, Houston Landing says that although it launched in 2023 with more than $20 million in seed funding, the outlet failed to attract enough revenue to continue operating. The announcement followed a vote by the organization’s board of directors to close the nonprofit newsroom. All 43 employees will be laid off, the Columbia Journalism Reviewreports.

“We are proud of the Landing’s coverage of Greater Houston and continue to believe deeply in the need for more free, independent journalism in our region,” Ann B. Stern, board chair of Houston Landing as well as president and CEO of the Houston Endowment, says in the announcement. “This decision was difficult but necessary. Houston Landing’s reporting has made a meaningful impact in the community, but it struggled to find its long-term financial footing.”

According to the announcement, the Landing’s board is exploring a partnership with the Austin-based Texas Tribune, a pioneer in nonprofit journalism, to potentially establish a local news initiative in Houston. Later this year, the Texas Tribune plans to open a locally focused newsroom in Waco. A similar newsroom is in the works in Austin.

“We have great respect for Houston Landing’s work in delivering high-quality, nonpartisan journalism to its readers,” says Sonal Shah, CEO of the Texas Tribune. “We also understand the profound challenges facing local newsrooms today — journalism is a public service and needs a strong ecosystem to thrive. We look forward to exploring how we can learn from what the Landing started and create a sustainable model that serves the Houston community. We will take time to explore the right path forward to ensure sustainability.”

Houston Landing was launched after a two-year study led by the American Journalism Project found many Houstonians were disappointed about a lack of trustworthy, deeply reported local news. Financial backers of the Landing include the American Journalism Project, the Houston Endowment, Arnold Ventures, the Kinder Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Despite the high-profile support, the site struggled to find an audience. CJR notes that the Landing had approximately 13,000 newsletter subscribers and only generated about $80,000 in subscription revenue. In the article, executive editor Sewell Chan identifies a number of other issues, including a lack of editorial focus and changes in leadership. “But in the end, the gap between board and staff, between management and labor, and between runway and revenue was just too large to bridge,” he writes.

“While it’s with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of our newsroom, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the dedicated journalists and staff members who poured their passion into our mission every single day,” Houston Landing CEO Peter Bhatia says.

“Houston Landing demonstrates how a commitment to truth and accountability can transform communities and improve lives,” he adds. “I’m thankful to those who believed in us, supported us, and stood with us as we connected with each other through stories that inspired positive change.”

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