Fresno zoo welcomes 3-year-old giraffe from Oregon. Here’s why she moved to California
Fresno Chaffee Zoo has a new female giraffe in its savanna: Kiden, a 3-year-old, 1,142-pound former resident of Oregon.
Zoo officials said Kiden was relocated from the Oregon Zoo based on a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan to better promote genetic diversity in giraffes under human care.
Kiden comes to the central San Joaquin Valley after a former Fresno giraffe, Tsavo, was moved to the Oakland Zoo earlier this year to provide the giraffe herd there with a “more robust and needed social structure.”
Fresno Chaffee Zoo officials made the announcement about Kiden’s arrival on Monday morning.
“Kiden is doing great and is exploring her surroundings,” said Michele Green, Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s lead zookeeper. “The zookeepers that worked with Kiden described her as being very confident around other giraffes, so we expect her to be comfortable and confident on the savannas once she settles in. We look forward to watching her develop her role in the herd.”
Guests can get eye-to-eye with Fresno’s giraffe herd at the zoo’s giraffe feeding platform, Twiga Terrace, located in the zoo’s African Adventure savanna.
Masai and reticulated giraffes at Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Kiden is now one of four Masai giraffes at the Fresno zoo, including Betty Lou, Fenny, and Siku. Two others are reticulated giraffes: Jabari and Baba.
Fresno Chaffee Zoo is “shifting its focus to Masai giraffes, and bringing Kiden to the Zoo is part of that change.”
“Our decision to focus on Masai giraffe was primarily at the request of the Species Survival Plan,” said Lyn Myers, the zoo’s general curator. “Their population is smaller and less represented in U.S. zoos and they are primarily housed at West Coast accredited zoos. Transitioning to Masai giraffes allows for more collaboration with our regional partners in supporting this species as well as safer, quicker moves between facilities.”
The Fresno zoo’s oldest giraffe, 26-year-old Uzuri, was euthanized last year while suffering from progressive arthritis. Zoo officials said she was one of the oldest reticulated giraffes in human care.
Uzuri’s death followed other reticulated Fresno giraffe deaths in recent years: 23-year-old Gali, euthanized in 2018 due to old age, and a baby giraffe that died of a neck injury in 2015.
