Meet Sukari
We would like you to meet Sukari, the youngest member of our tower. Faye, our seven-year-old giraffe, welcomed a baby girl to our Zoo family on September 4 at 2:03 p.m. Mom and baby are both doing very well and have been bonding behind scenes.
With the help of our Facebook community, we settled on the name Sukari, which means “sugar” in Swahili. This is the third time in which we have named zoo animals with the help of our Facebook followers, including Jua, a sitatunga calf born in March and our two Giant Groupers Yindi and Miki that arrived in 2019.
Mom, Faye, and Sukari have been very busy meeting the rest of our giraffe. It takes a village to raise a baby and our female giraffe will often share the responsibilities of raising a calf. In fact, our adult females have been introduced to Sukari one by one with mom and staff’s supervision. It is common for calves to stay with a few females while the others forage. The males will be introduced eventually as well, and although they are not usually part of calf rearing, they are often quite curious and gentle.
We look forward to watching Faye and Sukari grow and bond as they reach important developmental milestones in the coming months. While a baby giraffe can seem lanky and awkward when it’s first born, (you would be too if you were born 6 feet tall!) Sukari is growing up fast! She is bold, independent and very inquisitive. Our zoo keepers have provided enrichment that focuses on bringing out her curiosity. With other calves, we have learned that they are often quite “musical” and enjoy interacting with enrichment that makes noise.
Though Sukari has been here just over a month, she already has us wrapped around her little hoof!
Written by Communications Intern Josh
