CLEVELAND — There’s a new baby giraffe at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and now you can help pick his name!
The three choices are:
- Kendi, meaning loved one
- Nuru, meaning light
- Zuva, meaning day or sun
You can vote online HERE or by visiting the Welcome Plaza at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Donations from the online vote will be used to help support giraffe conservation efforts in the wild.
Voting will conclude at midnight on Thursday, Nov. 5.
"The pandemic has had wide-ranging impacts on our world, including on many of our conservation partners we support abroad that help protect vulnerable species like giraffe,” said Dr. Chris Kuhar, Executive Director of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. “By helping us name our newest giraffe calf, you are also supporting our conservation partners in their efforts to protect giraffe populations in Africa."
The baby giraffe was born Oct. 13 to mom, Jhasmin, and dad, Bo, weighing approximately 150 pounds and standing at nearly six feet tall.
Zoo officials noted that each of the three name options are unique to giraffes’ native regions in Africa, where their population has decreased by nearly 40% throughout the last 15 years. The current global giraffe population is estimated to be less than 80,000.
“Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s partnership with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation helps protect giraffes by addressing poaching and illegal snaring, translocating animals to secure endangered populations and also conducting studies on population and disease. Each year the Zoo, in partnership with the Cleveland Zoological Society, provides more than $650,000 in direct support to global conservation efforts, which have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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