SOME COMPETITION entrants wanted to call Dublin Zoo’s latest arrival Beverley Flynn, perhaps something to do with the animal’s most prominent characteristic, but in the end the zoo chose “Neema” for its baby giraffe.
And as far as timing goes it was a good choice; Neema means prosperous in Swahili and who wouldn’t want to be called that in the current climate?
Yesterday, six-year-old Lucy Blacker from Swords, Co Dublin, who made the suggestion in the zoo’s giraffe-naming competition, went along with her family to visit the six-week-old baby giraffe.
The lucky girl, from senior infants in St Cronan’s Junior National School, Swords, was allowed into the giraffe enclosure to meet Neema’s family, dad Robin, mother Jenny, sister Sandstein and brother Seanín, as well as the rest of the herd.
Neema, on her spindly but steady legs, was too shy to get close to her visitor, though Sandstein, who was hand-fed human infant formula by zoo keepers after her mother rejected her, was willing to say hello.
The rest of the family munched from a basket of cabbage and hay and stripped the bark from a few bare trees.
Occasionally Robin wandered down toward where Lucy was standing to chase away the herd of photographers.
Lucy, who had just recovered from a bout of chicken pox, was delighted and proud that her entry was chosen for the young giraffe, born on January 4th.
She chose the name with the help of her parents and the internet after being encouraged to enter the competition by her teacher, she said.
Zookeeper Helen Clarke said they had a fantastic response to the competition, with many varied suggestions. She said Neema was doing really well since birth and was “quite genuinely prospering”.
“She is already 5ft 5in tall and weighs 50 kg,” she said.
