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Despite the loss of baby giraffe, Yao Ming, from the Houston Zoo in Texas, moments of sadness were also filled with happiness as the Santa Barbara Zoo in California welcomed a new giraffe calf. Yao Ming, who was named after the retired Houston Basketball Star, had to be euthanized after zookeepers decided that death was the only option left for the ailing baby. Yao Ming, who was a Masai giraffe, was not even two months old, and unfortunately for the young one, he suffered from a serious arthritic bone infection that would have meant a lifetime of endless pain.

"In the long run, it was definitely the right decision...We don't want to see the animal suffer and go through chronic pain," the zoo's veterinarian, Dr. Wyatt Winchell, stated. Dr. Winchell has treated Yao Ming for several conditions that included one surgery and other bone infections. The surgery removed an infected bone from Yao Ming's right shoulder. The baby was also suffering from an infection in its rear leg. "Up until the last week he seemed to be improving. He had been lying down a little more, though."

According to the Zoo's press release, Yao Ming suffered from pain and ailments as early as seven weeks old. Even though Yao Ming had a premature death, the bright side of this event is that he would no longer have to suffer.

On the west coast of the country, the Santa Barbara zoo had welcomed a newborn giraffe on Thursday. Much to the zookeepers' dismay, the first people to notice adult giraffe, Audrey going into labor were the spectators. The zoo's veterinarian, Dr. Julie Barnes stated, "The first hoof was actually sticking out. Shortly followed by the second hoof and she went into some serious contractions and within about two hours, roughly about two hours, she'd given birth to this beautiful calf." The video below is quite graphic.

After an hour and encouragement from its mother, the baby started to take a few steps. The sex of the newborn is unknown for now. But the zoo stated that if it is a boy, he will be named Dane and if it is a girl, she will be called Sunshine.

"We're still working on that mom and baby bong, and because Audrey didn't nurse her first calf we want to make sure she's going to allow this calf to," Wendy Anderson, a zoo employee, stated. The zoo awaits another birth that could happen at any moment. Pregnant giraffe, Betty-Lou is currently 15 months pregnant and already past her due date.