The day is here! April the giraffe‘s calf finally has a name: Tajiri.
The announcement was made on Good Morning America on Monday, May 1, by Jordan Patch, the owner of Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York.
Patch told viewers that a contest was held to name April’s son, and the zoo narrowed down the choices to 10 finalists. Among the options? Patches, Gio, Unity and Noah. Ultimately, fans decided to let one of April’s caretakers, Alyssa, pick the name.
With some help from a fellow zookeeper, Alyssa chose the name Tajiri, which means “hope” in Swahili. “They picked that name because they hope that we can continue forward this message of conservation and for sustainability and preservation of giraffes in the wild, and also our efforts in captivity,” Patch explained. “The name also stands for ‘confidence,’ which our calf is very, very confident.”
Patch acknowledged that the name Tajiri might be a bit difficult for some fans to pronounce, so Animal Adventure Parks plans to use the nickname “Taj.”
April the giraffe made headlines earlier this year when the zoo launched a livestream so that millions of fans across the world could follow her pregnancy. After months of anticipation, April gave birth on April 15. Tajiri is her fourth calf and first with fellow giraffe Oliver.
