Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park's new giraffe a 'confident young lady'

Monday, 2 December 2019

Kamili, a 20-month old female giraffe, has just arrived at Orana Wildlife Park after being transferred from Perth Zoo.

A young female giraffe has travelled about 6000 kilometres to join the four-strong herd at Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park.

Kamili, from Western Australia's Perth Zoo, arrived in New Zealand on Sunday night after a trip across the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia to Melbourne, and then a seven-day sea voyage to Lyttelton Harbour.

Kamili will join Orana's herd of four giraffes.

The 20-month-old will join Orana's herd after a three-day quarantine, but visitors will still be able to see her during that time.

Orana's exotic species manager Rachael Mason said she was delighted to welcome Kamili to the park as part of the managed regional breeding programme.

In March 2018, a newborn giraffe at Auckland Zoo was euthanised because it was too weak to stand and suckle.

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'She is a very pretty giraffe and a confident young lady. We are thrilled with how well she has settled in.

'The planned introduction to our four giraffes went brilliantly and I'm delighted we now have five of these majestic gentle giants.'

Orana spokesman Nathan Hawke said adding Kamili to the herd was extremely important for the park's breeding program as the giraffe numbers continue to decline.

'Giraffes are just stunning animals and we're privileged to be a part of the managed breeding program for this species as they're increasingly threatened, so Kamili coming to Orana just continues to add more genes to the program.

'She's a little young at 20-months old to be breeding, but obviously long-term that's the purpose so she can help contribute to the preservation of the species.'

Kamili has ancestral ties to park as her father, Armani, was born at Orana in 2002. Harriet, the last giraffe born at Orana in 2012, is Kamili's aunt.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, there are just over 68,000 mature giraffes left in the wild.

The site lists giraffes as vulnerable as the species population continues to decline.

Over the past two years, three giraffes have died at Auckland Zoo alone.

In March 2018, a newborn giraffe was euthanised as it was too weak to stand and suckle.

In April, 2017, elderly Zabulu, 19, died and in January that year giraffe Kiraka gave birth to extremely rare twins but the male twin had to be euthanised after encountering feeding problems.