New York — When a woman went into labor at the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York, a quick acting employee at the zoo delivered the baby.
On Friday , a 21-year-old heavily pregnant woman who was visiting the zoo with a group of friends that included children, suddenly went into contractions.
Zoo Education Coordinator, Liz Schmidt, told The Post-Standard that an emergency call came through on her radio while she was teaching a group of five-year-old’s and their parents about reindeer.
She was told that a woman was in labor about 500 yards away on the wildlife path near the bear exhibit.
“I honestly didn’t expect her to deliver at the zoo,” Ms Schmidt said. “I thought we’d pop her in a wheelchair and she’d be good to go to the hospital.”
When she arrived at the scene, an adult took the children in the group away while Ms Schmidt radioed out for back up and blanket and assessed the situation.
From there, reportedly , the birth progressed rapidly.
“As I came on the scene, the baby was pretty much on its way out,” said Zookeeper Sarah Kohler, who responded to Ms Schmidt’s back up request.
After the little girl was born, members of the woman’s party and zoo staff kept the mother and baby warm with clothing and blankets. An ambulance arrived shortly afterwards to take the pair to the local Crouse Hospital.
Zoo Director Ted Fox later told reporters he was proud of the way his staff had responded and that they planned on sending a gift to the family.
