This 13-month-old giraffe from Louisiana has a new home at the Oakland Zoo, but he doesn’t have a name yet. You can now help name the towering teen in a naming contest that runs through Monday.
It’s the month of May, the time of year when East Bay animal fans engage in their annual naming contests. Usually these contests involve naming the brood of baby falcon chicks atop the Berkeley Campanile, and indeed, that naming contest is preliminarily underway. But some 15 miles due south of the Campanile, there’s another naming contest to stretch your neck at.
“We’re thrilled to welcome a new 13-month-old male giraffe to our herd,” the Oakland Zoo announced in a Thursday Facebook post. “This 10-foot tall guy traveled in a specially-designed trailer from Audubon Nature Institute in Louisiana, and arrived safely to Oakland Zoo Tuesday night. He comes to us as part of the AZA Species Survival Program (SSP) to help ensure the sustainability of a healthy, genetically diverse giraffe population.”
And according to KTVU there is a naming contest for this young new giraffe, and the contest is already underway.
There are three name choices for this giraffe: Enzi (which means "powerful"), Nuru (which means "the light") and Kovu (which means "scar"). Each of these words is a Swahili term, paying homage to this giraffe species’ native regions of Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
The naming contest runs through Monday, May 13. You can submit your vote by commenting on the contest’s Facebook post, Twitter post, or Instagram post.
Young Mr. Yet-To-Be-Named joins five other giraffes living at the Oakland Zoo’s African Savanna area. He’s currently separated from them by a fence, but will be fully integrated with the herd when the zoo’s veterinary team feels he’s ready to stand tall alongside them.
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Image: Oakland Zoo via Facebook