Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure is proud to announce the arrival of Billie and Zuri, two young female giraffes. Billie, the eldest of the two, is a 20-month-old Rothschild’s giraffe that arrived October 17th from the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri. Zuri, a reticulated giraffe, just 15 months old, arrived October 19th from Zoo Atlanta. “The young females are getting along very well together”, explains Peter Burvenich, Curator at Rolling Hills. “BT (Btuanya), our remaining male giraffe, is very interested in both the new arrivals”.

BT saying “Howdy” to Billie upon her arrival.

As part of the Giraffe Species Survival Plan, a captive breeding management group run by the AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) to help ensure the survival of selected wildlife species, two of the three male giraffes from Rolling Hills have gone to other zoos, including Jumbe, who left to go to the Knoxville Zoo October 17th, after Billie’s arrival. While BT is a recommended breeding partner for both Billie and Zuri, It will be a few years before breeding will begin. All three giraffes are viewable to the public – Jumbe in the giraffe yard, and both Billie and Zuri can be seen on the pad outside the giraffe barn and at the inside giraffe viewing area.

Overall, the giraffe is regarded as “least concern” from a conservation perspective, as it still is widespread and occurs in numerous reserves. However, the giraffe has been extirpated from many parts of its former range with the Rothschild’s giraffe, a subspecies, having been classified as endangered with wild populations only numbering in the hundreds.

Giraffes are hunted for their tails, hides, and meat. In addition, habitat destruction also hurts the giraffe. The total African giraffe population has been estimated to range from 110,000 to 150,000, although more recent estimates suggest fewer than 80,000 remain in total.

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