Your behind-the-scenes look at the El Paso Zoo’s new baby giraffe

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- ABC-7 was invited for a behind-the-scenes look at the El Paso Zoo's new baby giraffe Wednesday.

The baby's story begins about 15 months ago, when mom Gigi started her pregnancy. Giraffes have a notoriously long gestation period. While they waited, the zoo says it had to baby-proof the enclosure.

The official pregnancy announcement came out earlier this year. The city of El Paso and zoo officials say the baby is the first giraffe born in the city.

Zookeepers say Gigi went into labor last Wednesday around 9:30 PM. They were on-hand to help her during the birth, but say there were no complications so there was no need to intervene.

Just an hour later, the baby was born. Zookeepers say he started standing and nursing almost immediately.

Gigi and the baby, who does not yet have a name, are off-exhibit right now to give them time to bond. Officials say the boy is already very curious and spends his time running around and playing with his toys.

The zoo has not yet announced when mom and baby will go back on exhibit.