Eyelean the giraffe, hand-raised by keepers at Monarto Zoo, now thriving at a year old

Eyelean the giraffe had to be bottle-fed by zookeepers after being rejected by her mother. But after a tough 12 months, she’s tucked into birthday cake at her party to celebrate turning one.

Monarto's hand-raised giraffe Eyelean getting her birthday cake on Wednesday, her first birthday. Picture: Zoos SA

For the first few months of her life, Eyelean the giraffe had to be bottle-fed by zookeepers after being rejected by her first-time mother.

On Wednesday, she tucked into birthday cake at her party to celebrate turning one.

The giraffe calf has endured a tough 12 months but is now thriving among her herd at Monarto Zoo.

Zookeeper at Monarto, Tess Stevens, said successfully hand-raising Eyelean and reintroducing her to the herd had been an incredibly challenging but rewarding venture.

“Hand-raising a giraffe isn’t a very common practice as it can be very labour intensive but we couldn’t be more pleased with how Eyelean has grown and developed,” Ms Stevens said.

Zookeepers are pleased with how Eyelean has developed after she was hand-raised over the past 12 months. Picture: Zoos SA

“It was all-hands on deck during the first few months of her life as we acted as a surrogate mum while she grew healthy and strong.

“Now, we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate her first birthday and treat her to a delicious cake.”

While the keeping team developed a special bond with Eyelean, a friendly distance had to be maintained as hand-raised giraffes can become dangerous and difficult to handle as they grow older.

Classified as vulnerable to extinction in the wild, Eyelean marks an important contribution to a vital breeding program working to secure the future of the species.

Habitat loss, poaching and civil unrest has resulted in giraffe numbers plummeting from about 155,000 in 1985 to just 95,000 in 2015.