We are delighted to announce that our new baby giraffe has been named Kwame, which means ‘born on Saturday’ in Twi, a language spoken in Ghana, west Africa. The name is very apt as the new giraffe was born on Saturday 6 June 2009 to mum Isabella and dad Kismet.
Pronounced 'kwa-me', the name was chosen via an online vote conducted on this website. Kwame received over a quarter of all votes cast, 562 out of 2205. However, it was a close call as Kwame was ‘neck and neck’ with Sekani throughout and won with just 11 more votes. The other names in the vote were Louis, William and Merlin.
Kwame is never far from his mum and can be seen at Marwell Wildlife now. During the last few weeks the giraffes, led by Kismet, have been exploring ‘African Valley’ their new home which they share with Grevy’s zebra, ostrich and waterbuck, all animals that they would naturally mix with in Africa.
Head Keeper for the giraffes, Ian Goodwin said: “Kwame is the first giraffe born at Marwell to be sired by Kismet, our breeding male. Kwame is a really beautiful giraffe and hopefully he will grow to be just as big and strong as Kismet, who at 17ft is the tallest of all of our giraffes.”
The votes received were:
- Louis – 250
- William – 340
- Merlin - 502
- Sekani - 551
- Kwame – 562
Monday 6 July 2009