Rare Baby Giraffe Is Given African Name

Marwell Wildlife has announced the name of its endangered baby giraffe!

After receiving thousands of votes to name their new male Rothschild's giraffe, the park can now reveal that the winning name is............................. Dubaku!!

The public were asked to choose their favourite name out of a list of five, which were created by giraffe keepers. 

Dubaku was a clear favourite after receiving 42% of the total votes. 

Dubaku is an African name which means 'seventh child'. Keepers chose the name because the youngster is experienced Mum Matilda?s seventh calf. 

Giraffe keeper, Sara Taylor said: 

"Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for our new male giraffe. It's always difficult picking a name that all the team agree on, so we appreciate the help! 

"Dubaku is a very strong, healthy calf. He is very confident and loves it outside rain or shine! He can often be seen running around with the other new arrivals. 

"Matilda has proven to be an excellent mum once again and is always keeping a close eye on Dubaku. The other giraffes also look out for him as they do with Ruby and Olympia." 

The male, who is now two weeks old, was born as part of the European Endangered species Programme (EEP) for Rothschild giraffes. 

This species is very rare with currently less than 670 Rothschild giraffes in the wild. 

Ian Goodwin, Collection Manager of Hoofstock said:

 “The young male is doing incredibly well and finding his feet quickly. He can often be seen galloping around the enclosure with the other two young giraffes.

“This male is a valuable new addition to the Rothschild giraffe EEP (European Endangered Species Programme), which Marwell is a part of.

“This is our third and final giraffe to be born at the park this year. Unlike the last two births, this calf was born in the middle of the night so it was a great surprise for the keepers who opened the doors to the giraffe house in the morning!”

The park’s giraffes have had a successful year of breeding with the arrival of Ruby a female giraffe in January and Olympia another female giraffe, being born in August.