H-E-B Helps Texas Zoo Feed Baby Giraffe After It Lost Its Mother

H-E-B is helping feed a baby giraffe that recently became an orphan.

Edward the giraffe was born at the Abilene Zoo in October 2020. Sadly, his mom Sunny suddenly died in January.

Like all growing babies, Edward needed a steady supply of milk. The zoo first tried giving him a powder-based formula, but Edward didn't like it.

“We couldn’t get him to successfully take it. We tried to put him with the other females to see if he would nurse from them because they had also had babies themselves,” Zoo Curator Denise Ibarra told KTAB.

Unfortunately, the other mother giraffes didn't have enough milk to feed their babies and Edward. For its next try, the zoo gave Edward goat milk and he liked it.

Giraffes can be over six feet tall when they're born so Edward is a pretty big baby. The zoo said he drinks 3 gallons of goat milk a day. It was going to pretty pricey to feed Edward, especially since the zoo took a financial hit because of COVID.

When the Texas grocery store chain found out about Edward, H-E-B donated enough goat milk to keep the giraffe feed until he's old enough to wean.

“Not only were we able to get a ready supply for baby Edward, but we were able to cover the cost for the zoo,” said H-E-B store leader Ricky Cortez. 

Photo: Getty Images