A baby giraffe born in Dublin Zoo in early January has been named Neema following a nationwide competition.
The name, which means “prosperous” in Swahili, was submitted by six-year-old Lucy Blacker from Swords, Co Dublin.
The zoo unveiled a competition to name the female giraffe calf shortly after her birth on January 4th.
Team leader at the African Plains Helen Clarke said there had been a good response to the competition.
"There were some really fantastic African names entered but our team agreed that 'Neema' meaning ‘born into prosperity’, was the most fitting name for our new giraffe calf. She is doing really well since birth and is quite genuinely prospering,” she said.
Neema is already two metres tall and weighs 50kg. She is part of a herd of six other giraffes in Dublin Zoo's Africa Plains habitat.
The zoo has seen a baby boom in the past year, including the birth of Budi, the first bull elephant in Ireland, a southern white rhinoceros calf named Zukiszwa, in May, another baby giraffe, Sandsteen, born in July, and a Californian sealion shortly afterwards.
Last year the zoo attracted a record number of visitors, with 931,866 people visiting in 2008.