What Does Tajiri Mean? April The Gifaffe Baby Name Explained

April the giraffe’s calf has finally been named. Nearly two weeks after his birth, Animal Adventure Park’s baby giraffe was named “Tajiri.” The announcement was made Monday on “Good Morning America” by Jordan Patch, owner of the park in Harpursville, New York.

The calf was named "Tajiri" by Alyssa Swilley, giraffe keeper at the park and she was given the opportunity to do so based on a vote that included the option “Alyssa’s choice.” That option received the most votes from the public, allowing Swilley to decide the calf's name.

On a Facebook live video on Monday, Swilley said she took help from keeper Corey Dwyer and they arrived at the decision together. "Alyssa's choice wasn't just my choice," she said. Swilley chose Tajiri, which is a Swahili word for both “hope” and “confidence” for April’s calf. According to the website AfricanLanguages.com, Tajiri also means “rich.”

Swilley’s choice won over other possible names such as Geoffrey, Patches and Unity that were nominated for $1 on the park’s voting website. Tajiri was chosen after two rounds and 15 days of public voting.

The park officials announced earlier that the money raised from the public voting contest to choose the name was to be divided between giraffe care at Animal Adventure Park, giraffe conservation in the wild, and the park's Ava's Little Heroes annual fundraiser.

Swilley said they chose the name because it would portray the hope and confidence that the zookeepers and animal conservationists have in the future of the giraffe species. The new calf — who weighed about 130 pounds and his height, was 5 foot, 9 inches at birth — is important for animal conservation because global giraffe population has declined by an alarming rate of 40 percent in the last 30 years, increasing the vulnerability of the species to extinction.

"Hope is something that Tajiri has not only brought you guys as a community globally now but it is a hope for giraffes. We have been able to give giraffes a voice, we're losing giraffes at an incredibly fast rate and we have given this species a hope," Swilley said, according to CBS News. "We are confident that we can move into the future where we have giraffes,” she added.

There was also a tweet from April's account, which said the baby giraffe would be nicknamed “Taj”.

Patch said last month that once Tajiri learns to eat on his own and no longer requires nursing, he will be weaned from April. The entire process could take around six to ten months, or even longer. After this, April’s calf would leave the Animal Adventure Park.

April, a 15-year-old giraffe, gave birth to Tajiri on April 15 and her live-stream video was watched by at least 1.2 million people on YouTube and nearly 750,000 watched it on the zoo’s Facebook page. Her mate for the baby was Oliver, a 5-year-old giraffe, who became a father for the first time, according to Animal Adventure. Tajiri was April’s fourth calf.