Meet Amani & Thembi
Amani & Thembi reunite after their long road trip
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New Giraffes have Arrived
Werribee Open Range Zoo's newest additions, Amani and Thembi, are now on view for the public to see.
The one-year-old giraffes have completed the 30-day quarantine period and are grazing freely with other giraffe, rhino, zebra and antelope in the Zoo's large lower savannah.
Amani and Thembi also met their grandfather, Anthony, an 18-year-old Rothschild Giraffe who retired at Werribee Open Range Zoo in April 2000. Anthony sired 7 offspring and has 37 descendants, including Amani and Thembi.
The laidback one-year-olds arrived from Taronga Western Plains Zoo in May after a long 12-hour road trip and have since settled into their new giraffe house under the watchful eye of Zoo Keepers.
The Journey
Below you can view a video of some of the highlights of Amani and Thembi's road trip.
To see more videos check out the Giraffe Keeper Blog
The route
Meet Amani & Thembi
Thembi (L) tends to take the lead while Amani (R) is more cautious
Meet Amani & Thembi
Chowing down with favourite new friend, Kinta
Meet Amani & Thembi
The boys are the very best of friends and are never far from each other
Did You Know?
The giraffe is the tallest of all mammals, males reaching a height of about 5.5m and females about 5m.
To circulate blood all through this tall body, the giraffe has the biggest heart of any animal, weighing about 12 kg!
A giraffe's tongue can reach up to 45cm long and 8cm wide! The tongue's dark colour prevents blistering in the sun.
Always alert for danger, giraffes sleep for approximately two hours a day, and catch quick 5-6 minute naps for the rest of the time.
Close to 2m long, the giraffe's neck has seven vertebrae like other mammals, just longer. The long neck means great changes in blood pressure as a giraffe lowers or raises its head, so special blood vessels and valves compensate. Without this adaptation, giraffes would faint when blood pressure increased.
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