Baby giraffe born at Disney World in front of guests returns to the savanna
A baby giraffe which was born on the Kilimanjaro Safari savanna at
Two-month-old Jabari, a male Masai giraffe, made his debut in front of guests on Jan. 14, 2019 as his other Mara gave birth.
Now, two months later, after spending time bonding with his mom in a backstage habitat, the 7-foot-tall Jabari has returned to the savanna stage.
“Our animal care team typically is given the honor of naming baby animals but this time the naming choice went to our safari drivers because they played such an important role in keeping Guests calm during the Jabari’s birth,” Scott Terrell, Director of Animal & Science Operations for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, wrote on the Disney Parks Blog.
Jabari means “brave one” in Swahili.
Jabari is the third giraffe to be born within two years at the park. Last year, Amira and Aella, two young female giraffe calves, were also at Animal Kingdom.
The Masai giraffe, found primarily in Kenya and Tanzania, is one of nine types of giraffe and is a vulnerable species. There are believed to be roughly 32,000 Masai giraffes left in the wild.
Here is a Disney video of Jabri’s return and some of the reactions of the drivers who saw the birth.
