The Brights Zoo in Tennessee will be holding a vote to name a new giraffe – who was born spotless!
- The unnamed baby was born on July 31 without spots, making it the only known living giraffe without spots
- “Giraffe experts believe she is the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet,” the zoo said.
- The Swahili-based choices for her name are Kipekee, Friyali, or Jamella
It might be easier than usual to spot the new baby giraffe just born at a Tennessee zoo — and even easier to give it a name.
The unnamed baby was born on July 31 without spots, making it the only known living giraffe without spots.
The video shows the new calf playing and being fed by her mother, who continues to care for her as she makes her public debut.
Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee made its debut with the baby giraffe after discovering how rare it was.
“Giraffe experts believe she is the only solid-colored reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet,” the zoo – located about 80 miles east of Knoxville – said in a statement.
This unnamed baby giraffe was born on July 31 at Brights Zoo in Tennessee without spots, making it the only known living brown giraffe.
While other spotless calves have been born before, none of them got the new baby’s brown coat.
Usually, spotless giraffes are born with all-white bodies, unlike the new six-foot-tall Tennessee calf.
The zoo has started showing the special new arrival to visitors, as she remains in the care of her mother. Officials say it is “thriving”.
Experts, however, have not been able to explain why the baby giraffe is such a color, according to zoo founder Tony Bright.
“The international coverage of our patternless baby giraffe has created a much-needed spotlight on giraffe conservation,” Bright said in a statement.
He hopes that, regardless of color, the attractiveness of the new giraffe will inspire people to pay attention to the peril faced by many giraffe breeds.
“Wild populations are silently sliding towards extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost over the past 3 decades.”
Reticulated giraffes, whose new baby is, saw their population of 38,000 drop by half between 2008 and 2018, according to the zoo.
The video shows the new calf playing and being fed by her mother, who continues to care for her as she makes her public debut
While other spotless calves have been born before, none of them got the new baby’s brown coat
Experts, however, have not been able to explain why the baby giraffe is such a color
The baby remains unnamed, which Brights Zoo hopes the public will help rectify.
They’ve come up with a poll that will allow fans to choose from four different names, with the most votes going to the most popular nickname.
Brights Zoo says the names are all a nod to Swahili, the language spoken in East Africa where reticulated giraffes like this calf originate from.
The choices are Kipekee, which means unique; Friyali, meaning extraordinary; Shakiri, which means she is the most beautiful; or Jamella, meaning of great beauty.
Brights Zoo will open the survey to the public on Tuesday the their facebook page.
