Endangered male giraffe Sifa arrives at safari park
The five-year-old Rothschild’s giraffe crossed land and sea to make the journey from Dublin to Blair Drummond Safari Park.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An endangered male giraffe has been welcomed into a Scottish safari park for the first time in 10 years.
On Wednesday, Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park near Stirling introduced Sifa, a five-year-old Rothschild’s giraffe, to its grounds.
The park estimates there are only about 2,000 Rothschild’s giraffes left in the wild.
Sifa arrived at the park at about 8pm on Wednesday after travelling from Dublin Zoo.
He is the first male giraffe to call Blair Drummond home in a decade.
As well as a sea crossing from Dublin to Holyhead, Sifa also endured a 337-mile journey north to his new home.
He has so far met new companions Harriet, Bella and Ruby, with the park saying the four are already getting along well.
The overall giraffe population spanning all species has dropped by about 30% since the 1980s, with an estimated 117,000 left in the wild.
Suzi Marshall, team leader for large mammals at Blair Drummond Safari Park, said: “We are thrilled to welcome a new male into our giraffe tower.
“We are used to having an all-female group, so we were a bit taken aback by how tall he is, he’s a good couple of feet taller than all our girls.
“We wanted to make him feel welcome as soon as he arrived, so we laid out a delicious dinner of willow.
“He made himself right at home and started tucking in right away.”