The Nashville Zoo announced the birth of a male Masai giraffe on July 9th, 2015. Weighing in at 171 pounds, standing 6 feet 6 inches tall.
It was the four calf born to born to Margarita in the state of the art giraffe barn. “It is actually the first male born here at Nashville Zoo,” said Lanny Brown, mammal curator. “Masai giraffes are not very common at zoos, so his birth is great news for the captive population.”
With the birth of the first male giraffe, the Nashville Zoo launched a naming contest asking guest to vote on their favorite of three options using an old pair of blue jeans. The three options were: Mkali – Swahili for “bright;” Mahali – Swahili for “spot;” Enzi – Swahili for “powerful.”
Nashville Zoo made the following announcement for the name:
“Thanks to your overwhelming response to our giraffe naming contest, we are sending over 700 pairs of used jeans to the Jeans for Giraffes conservation program. The winning name, Enzi, was the far and away winner with 407 Pairs (Mahali placed second with 188 pairs and Mkali came in last with 131).”
Other giraffe news at the Zoo, Layla will be leaving this month for a new home. Nashville Zoo commented on their Facebook page that “Layla is now old enough to breed, so the Species Survival Plan has paired her up with a male in Omaha.”
Follow Nashville Zoo on Facebook for the latest updates and events.
More News Here
