Zoo Baby

Call Zooborns! A new baby was born at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo! However, they might not get the furry baby pictures they are used to, because this specimen is human. An unnamed 21-year-old woman went into labor as she was visiting the zoo in Syracuse, New York, Friday morning. Zoo Education Coordinator Liz Schmidt was called to help.

“I honestly didn’t expect her to deliver at the zoo,” Schmidt said this afternoon. “I thought we’d pop her in a wheelchair and she’d be good to go to the hospital.”

It was obvious to Schmidt when she arrived that the baby had other ideas.

The woman had been touring the zoo with a group of five to seven adults and children when she went into labor, Schmidt said. An adult lead the children away to go look at the lions, as the woman was giving birth, she said.

As a first responder, Schmidt has taken courses in all aspects of first aid, including delivering babies. But she doesn’t carry medical equipment or blankets with her on her daily job, she said.

When she arrived, Schmidt immediately radioed out for back up and blankets.

The birth moved quickly from there, she said.

Zookeeper Sarah Kohler assisted, while elephant keeper John Moakler took over crowd control. An ambulance was called and took mother and the newborn baby girl to a hospital. Link -via Fark

(Image credit: Gary Walts/The Post-Standard)