Baby giraffe at Houston Zoo named 'Yao Ming'

  

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Meet "Yao Ming!" No, he's not the former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming. He's the slightly shorter one -- a new baby giraffe at the Houston Zoo!

Yao Ming is a baby Masai giraffe that was born at the Houston Zoo last Monday.

The giraffe is 6 feet tall and made his public debut this weekend, living in the zoo's new African Forest.

The new exhibit covers more than six acres and features giraffes, chimpanzees, ostriches and rhinoceroses. At the giraffe enclosure, you can even go upstairs and feed them leaves -- face to face -- for a donation.

Former Rocket Yao Ming, who retired as the tallest active player in the NBA, is 7 feet 6 inches tall. The baby giraffe is could more than double his namesake in height by the time he is fully grown. Male Masai giraffes can grow as tall as 18 feet.
___________________________________________________________

Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry devices

Get more Local »

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•