A giraffe who gave birth to a deformed calf in 2006 and was retired from breeding at the direction of the Topeka Zoo's former director gave birth to a calf Sunday with the same deformity.

The future of the female baby giraffe born at 2:18 p.m. Sunday at the Topeka Zoological Park is undecided, said Brendan Wiley, zoo director.

The baby was born to 25-year-old Dolly and 20-year-old Jesse. This calf is the fourth offspring of Dolly, Wiley said. Dolly's last calf suffered from a congenital hoof problem. Zoo staff had to euthanize the 7-month-old calf in April 2006 because of the tendon malformity, according to previous Topeka Capital-Journal articles.

Wiley was named zoo director in May after former director Mike Coker left in the wake of the facility's problems with federal inspectors and its own accrediting agency.

Coker in January 2007 prepared a document stating the national giraffe population manager of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums had recommended not breeding the Topeka zoo's giraffes, including the aging Dolly, previous Capital-Journal articles state. The zoo was going one step further, Coker said.

"The zoo has chosen to retire both of these animals from breeding due to their advancing age," he wrote at the time.

As of August 2008, the AZA's population manager continued to recommend not breeding Dolly.

Despite that recommendation and his previous statements about retiring Dolly, Coker sought and received an exception to the AZA recommendation later in 2008. And in an Oct. 16, 2009, e-mail to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Coker confirmed Dolly's new pregnancy.

Several zoo staff members on Sunday witnessed the birth of Dolly's latest calf, Wiley said.

"Initial exam of the new calf revealed that this calf may be dealing with the same hoof condition," Wiley wrote in a news release. "The zoo's veterinary staff was on hand to witness the delivery. Once identifying the hoof issue, treatment plans were quickly put into place. Both rear hooves have been immobilized in fiberglass casts to hopefully correct the hoof condition."

For now, Wiley said, the mom and new calf are bonding well and will continue to be on exhibit together.

"As for the new giraffe's future; only time will tell," the zoo director wrote in the release. "The calf currently has a guarded prognosis. If at any point the calf's condition appears to worsen, the calf will be euthanized."

Sunday's birth was bittersweet, Wiley said. In about eight days, the bright red fiberglass casts will be removed and staff members will evaluate the calf's progress.

"If we see good progress, we will recast them," he said. "If not, we will reevaluate at that time."

Ann Marie Bush can be reached at (785) 295-1207 or ann.bush@cjonline.com.