Endangered male giraffe 'makes himself at home' at Scottish safari park
24.09.2023 - 11:53
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
An endangered male giraffe 'made himself right at home' at a Scottish safari park after travelling across the sea from Dublin.
Sifa, a five-year-old Rothschild's giraffe, was welcomed at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park near Stirling - marking the first time a male giraffe has called the park home in 10 years.
Sifa arrived at the park around 8pm on Wednesday after travelling from Dublin Zoo. It is estimated there are only about 2,000 Rothschild's giraffes left in the wild.
He is the first male giraffe to call Blair Drummond home in a decade.
As well as a sea crossing from Dublin to Holyhead, Sifa also endured a 337-mile journey north to his new home.
He has so far met new companions Harriet, Bella and Ruby, with the park saying the four are already getting along well. The overall giraffe population spanning all species has dropped by about 30% since the 1980s, with an estimated 117,000 left in the wild.
Suzi Marshall, team leader for large mammals at Blair Drummond Safari Park, said: "We are thrilled to welcome a new male into our giraffe tower.
"We are used to having an all-female group, so we were a bit taken aback by how tall he is, he's a good couple of feet taller than all our girls.
"We wanted to make him feel welcome as soon as he arrived, so we laid out a delicious dinner of willow. He made himself right at home and started tucking in right away."
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