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Here's Another Election: Choose A Name For The Dallas Zoo's Baby Giraffe

The Dallas Zoo
Mother Chrystal tending to her newborn shortly after his birth last week. The male calf still needs a name.

The Dallas Zoo welcomed a newborn giraffe to its 12-member giraffe herd last week and someone already bought the naming rights to the calf, but now, thepublic will get some say on what to name the 6-foot fellow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qNmQ4RVO_Q

The anonymous donor chose three African names for the public to vote on: Kopano, which means “united” in Botswana; Usawa, Swahili for “equality”; and Shingo, another Swahili word for “neck.”  

Voters can also nominate a North Texas school to win a free animal visit from the Zoo’s Animal Adventures team.

Voting ends Sunday at 9 p.m. and the new name will be announced the following day. 

Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.