Animal Adventure Park has officially chosen a name for April the Giraffe’s two-week-old calf.
Shortly after April gave birth, the park announced the top 10 names that had been submitted and voted upon for the giraffe calf.
The top 10 names were as follows:
- Unity
- Patches
- Patch
- Peter
- Harpur
- Geoffrey
- Apollo
- Ollie
- Noah
- Allysa's Choice
After two rounds of voting over the course of 15 days, fans ultimately voted for the last option.
Allysa Swilley is the lead giraffe keeper at Animal Adventure Park. She has been working at the park for two years, and she has a bachelors degree in zoology from Oswego State University of New York.
In a video posted on Animal Adventure Park’s Facebook page, Swilley explained why she and another staff member, Corey Ewyer, chose the name Tajiri.
“Tajiri is a Swahili name for both hope and confidence,” Swilley said. “Hope is something that Tajiri has not only brought (fans) as a community globally, but it is a hope for giraffes.”
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Swilley said the attention April the Giraffe and her calf gained has been raising awareness for giraffes and the preservation of the animal species.
“We’ve also given that name confidence. We are confident that we can move into the future where we have giraffes,” Swilley said. “Hopefully, when he is 18-feet tall and over 2,000 pounds, we’re going to have a nice, confident bull who I’m sure will have lots of ladies.”
Park officials said they will call the calf “Taj” for short.
>> Related: 14 fast facts about giraffes
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