FORT WAYNE – The King of the Yams got his star turn Thursday, but he was no ham.
Ezeji, the newest giraffe at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, invited an adoring press to his lavish new digs, but then, like any good celebrity, mostly turned his back on the cameras, microphones and notebooks. When he did face reporters, it was shyly, looking demurely from behind long, long eyelashes.
Ezeji, whose name translates as “king of the yams” because of his love of sweet potatoes, is a 2-year-old male who arrived in October from the Indianapolis Zoo. “He definitely lives up to his name,” said Amber Eagleson, area manager for the zoo’s African Journey portion. “He loves them.”
Ezeji is the second male in the zoo’s herd, which now numbers eight giraffes, including two born here. Having a second male creates possibilities that did not exist before – as well as new problems.
For example, females Zahra and Kesi, ages 2 and 1, were fathered by Jelani. Now they can be bred without having to transfer to another zoo or bringing another male to town.
On the other hand, males can be aggressive toward one another, so Jelani, 13, can never be together with Ezeji.
But giraffes are also herd-oriented, Eagleson said, so having them close is important, too. That’s where the zoo’s new giraffe barn provides solutions.
At double the square footage of the old barn, it can comfortably hold up to 12 giraffes and has features both the giraffes and their keepers appreciate.
The stalls inside can be easily configured to allow or prevent movement, letting keepers separate the herd any way they wish, including creating a birthing stall, while the thin bars of the stalls let all the giraffes in the barn see one another at all times.
The aisle that runs the length of the stalls also has a “tamer,” a giraffe-sized padded area that can be closed off to hold one animal, while individual panels can be opened to let keepers tend to one body area.
That lets them, for example, trim hooves, draw blood or take X-rays, things keepers could not do before. The floor of the tamer is a scale – keepers could never weigh the adult giraffes before.
“Not many zoos have tamers,” Eagleson said. “I think the giraffes seem happier over here.”
And of course, everything in the giraffe barn is giraffe-scaled – meaning incredibly tall.
Feeding baskets can be lowered for the younger giraffes – and by “lowered,” remember that giraffes are born 6 feet tall – or raised for Jelani.
Even the concrete floors were specially designed – rather than smooth, they are grooved to help wear down the giraffes’ hooves so they don’t have to be trimmed as often.
While they love the new digs, they also get outside a lot – even in winter.
As long as it’s 45 degrees and sunny, they can go outside, even Kalahari, who used to never want to leave the barn.
As for Ezeji, he seems to be fitting in just fine, even if he didn’t want to mug for the cameras or wrap his long purple tongue around a lettuce leaf or sweet potato chunk.
“After you work with them awhile, you see they each have their own personality,” Eagleson said.
“They’re so tall, but they’re also so gentle.”
The zoo opens for the 2012 season April 21.
