Help Marwell Wildlife name their baby giraffe!

©Jason Brown

Marwell Wildlife is asking members of the public to pick a name for their five day old giraffe. 
The youngster was born on Friday (August 17) and lucky visitors to the park in Hampshire were able to watch the birth as it happened. 
Keepers can confirm the new arrival is female and they have chosen four suitable names for the little one. 

• Afia (which means born on a Friday)
• Olympia (to mark the recent success of the Olympics and the approaching Paralympics)
• Arria (meaning slender)
• Subira (meaning the reward of patience) 

As well as having the privilege of choosing a name, voters will automatically enter a prize draw to win a giraffe adoption! 

Staff at Marwell are delighted with the calf’s progress and visitors are enjoying watching the youngster begin to gallop around her new home. 

The giraffe’s mum Isabella went into labour at around 8am and took almost four hours to give birth. 
The healthy female soon found its feet and bonded with mum instantly. 
John Pullen, curator of mammals at Marwell Wildlife said: “This is Isabella’s third birth. It went extremely well and Isabella took it all in her stride. The public were allowed to watch the birth along with keepers and other members of staff. As soon as the calf was born we closed the house to let baby and mum bond. Isabella is really well and very protective of her newborn. Baby is tall and strong and was standing an hour later and walking an hour or so after that.”

To vote for your favourite name visit www.marwell.org.uk/giraffe 

Voting closes on Tuesday August 28 at 9am.