The Fort Worth Zoo asked the public for help in naming its baby girl giraffe, and the results are in.
In collaboration with the TODAY show, the zoo hosted a contest to determine whether the calf should be named Honey, Kumi or Iris. The winning name, announced June 27, was Kumi.
TODAY said 41.24% of votes were in support of the name, which is Swahili for 10, as she’s her mother’s tenth calf. The name edged out Honey by 1.24%.
After the contest was announced on June 13, another baby girl giraffe was welcomed to the zoo. Kumi and the new calf share the same father, Apollo, but have different mothers, according to a Facebook statement.
The new calf’s mother, Acacia, is a Rothschild’s giraffe while the majority of Fort Worth’s herd are reticulated giraffes. Rothschild’s giraffes are known for their coloration: darker brown patches of fur along their bodies with the absence of patterns on their lower legs. Fewer than 1,500 of the subspecies remain in the wild.
Though zoo staff is still finalizing a name for the second calf, they’ve nicknamed her “shin guards” due to the dark streaks on her calves and her birth coinciding with the zoo’s Summer of Soccer events, the statement said.
Both babies made their African Savanna debut last week.