Reid Park Zoo is excited to welcome Msituni (pronounced see-TOO-nee), a new adult female reticulated giraffe to its group of giraffes, known as a tower.
“We are very excited for Msituni to join us here at the Zoo. She is a very friendly giraffe and will make a great companion for our giraffes,” said Adam Ramsey, Director of Animal Care at Reid Park Zoo.
Msituni, who turned 3 on February 1, joins giraffes Penny, Jasiri, and Moyo. She can be seen on habitat periodically during the day. The giraffes are being slowly introduced, and have been showing lots of positive signs in their initial meetings. Penny is particularly interested in the new addition, keeping a close eye on Msituni as she explores the habitat. The two females gently pressed their heads together in greeting shortly after their first meeting.
Msituni made headlines in her early days as a giraffe calf when her care team at the zoo where she was born jumped into action to create braces for her legs which were unstable and bending improperly at the time of her birth. Ultimately, the treatments were a success and Msituni’s legs function normally now, supporting her and bending properly without issue.
Giraffes are currently facing a silent extinction. For many years people thought the giraffe population numbers in the wild were healthy because giraffes are easy to identify in the wild due to their size and unique characteristics. However, when scientists looked at current population data they realized that giraffes have actually seen about a 30% decline in their population in just the last three decades.
Giraffe numbers are declining due to poaching, civil unrest, and loss of habitat. We can help giraffes by reducing our carbon footprint to stop climate change that is causing droughts in many areas of giraffe habitat. Reid Park Zoo supports the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Giraffe SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) Program, providing support to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.