Name of April the Giraffe's Baby Has Been Chosen; What Does the Name 'Tajiri' Mean?
April the Giraffe's new calf has been given a name following an online voting contest, and according to the result, he will be known as Tajiri. With the name Tajiri not even in the top ten choices, how did the zoo come up with the decision and what does the name mean?
Jordan Patch, the owner of Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, made the announcement during his guesting on "Good Morning America on Monday, May 1. According to the zoo owner, the new calf's name is a foreign word that has been chosen for its meaning. "Tajiri is a word in Swahili that means hope," Patch said. "The name also stands for confidence, which our calf is -- very, very confident," Patch explained to the regular hosts of the popular morning show as quoted by ABC News.
The name was picked by Allysa Swilley, the zoo keeper who attended to the giraffes in Animal Adventure Park. Among the top ten choices picked for the second round of voting, "Allysa's Choice" was the eventual winner, giving the giraffe keeper the rights to choose the name.
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The choice of name has become a controversial one, as online commenters and media outlets point out that the word "Tajiri" actually means "rich" or "wealthy," going by an interpretation of the term using East Africa's Kiswahili language, according to Reuters.
According to Patch, the zookeepers "picked that name because they hope that we can continue forward this message of conservation for sustainability and preservation of giraffes in the wild and also our efforts in captivity," the zoo owner explained.
Tajiri, or "Taj" for short, is now a growing calf compared to back when he was born on April 15. At the time of birth, Taj was about six feet tall and weighed 150 pounds.
