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Tajiri was picked as the winner of a naming contest for a
baby giraffe whose long anticipated birth, hooves first, was
watched online last month by millions tuning into his mother
April's pen at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York.
Zoo owner Jordan Patch, announcing the name on ABC's "Good
Morning America" on Monday, said the Swahili word was chosen for
its forward-looking meaning when translated into English.
"Tajiri is a word in Swahili that means hope," Patch said, as he
fed carrots to April while Tajiri looked on.
But it seems no one in Harpursville had a dictionary of East
Africa's Kiswahili language handy, as the translation of Tajiri
is "rich" or "wealthy."
Hope is usually translated as "tarajio" or "matumaini."
April raised a "significant amount" of money from viewers
worldwide who were mesmerized by her 16-month pregnancy, Patch
said. Those donations will be used for conservation efforts as
well as giraffe upkeep at the zoo, he said.
The naming contest was narrowed to 10 finalists and the winner,
"Tajiri," was nominated by Allysa Swilley, the zoo's giraffe
keeper, Patch said.
"They picked that name because they hope that we can continue
forward this message of conservation for sustainability and
preservation of giraffes in the wild and also our efforts in
captivity," Patch said.
The zoo did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for
comment.
The calf, nicknamed "Taj," was 6-feet tall (1.8-meters) and
weighed about 150 pounds (70 kg) when he was born on April 15.
(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Additional reporting
by George Obulutsa in Kenya; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Steve
Orlofsky)
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