Tennessee’s Brights Zoo will vote on naming a new giraffe – born spotless!
- The unnamed baby was born spotless on July 31, making it the only known living spotless giraffe
- “Giraffe experts believe she is the only monochromatic reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet,” the zoo said
- The Swahili based names for her name are Kipekee, Friyali or Jamella
It might be easier than usual to spot the newest baby giraffe recently born at a Tennessee zoo — and even easier to name her.
The unnamed baby was born spotless on July 31, making it the only known living spotless giraffe.
The video shows the young calf playing and being cared for by its mother, who continues to care for it as it makes its public debut.
Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee first gave birth to the baby giraffe after discovering how rare it is.
“Giraffe experts believe she is the only monochromatic reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet,” the zoo, which is about 80 miles east of Knoxville, said in a statement.
This unnamed baby giraffe was born spotless on July 31 at Brights Zoo in Tennessee, making it the only known living brown spotless giraffe
While other unblemished calves have been born, none of them had the new baby’s brown coat.
Normally, unblemished giraffes are born with an all-white body, in contrast to the new 6-foot-tall Tennessee calf.
The zoo has begun showing visitors the special new arrival while she remains in her mother’s care. Officials say she is fine.
However, according to zoo founder Tony Bright, experts could not explain why the baby giraffe is such a color.
“International media coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has brought much-needed focus to giraffe conservation,” Bright said in a statement.
He hopes the appeal of the new giraffe, regardless of color, will make people aware of the danger many giraffe breeds face.
“Wild populations are silently dying out, with 40 percent of the wild giraffe population being lost in the last three decades alone.”
According to the zoo, the population of reticulated giraffes, which are the new baby, has halved from 38,000 animals from 2008 to 2018.
The video shows the young calf playing and being cared for by its mother, who continues to care for it as it makes its public debut
While other unblemished calves have been born, none of them had the new baby’s brown coat
However, experts could not explain why the baby giraffe is such a color
The baby still has no name and Brights Zoo is hoping the public will help correct it.
They offered a poll where fans could choose from four different names, with the most votes going to the most popular moniker.
According to Bright’s Zoo, the names are all a nod to Swahili, the language spoken in East Africa, where reticulated giraffes like this calf originally come from.
The choices are “Kipekee” which means “unique”; Friyali means extraordinary; Shakiri, meaning she is most beautiful; or Jamella, meaning “one of great beauty”.
Brights Zoo will make the survey available to the public on its Facebook page on Tuesday.