Colchester Zoo Giraffe names & ages

[Retslik]

I'm thinking of buying an adopt an animal for my wife's birthday this year.
She has always liked giraffes.

Can someone tell me the names, Male or female & ages of the giraffes at Colchester zoo please, and whether they will be staying at the zoo for the foreseeable future.

 

[GiraffeJack10]

I'm thinking of buying an adopt an animal for my wife's birthday this year.
She has always liked giraffes.

Can someone tell me the names, Male or female & ages of the giraffes at Colchester zoo please, and whether they will be staying at the zoo for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately I don't know any names but I can say that your wife certainly has excellent taste in animals. I visited fairly recently and all of the giraffes appeared to be adults because I don't remember seeing any younger ones. Sorry I couldn't be of much help.

 

[Zoofan15]

I'm thinking of buying an adopt an animal for my wife's birthday this year.
She has always liked giraffes.

Can someone tell me the names, Male or female & ages of the giraffes at Colchester zoo please, and whether they will be staying at the zoo for the foreseeable future.

Unfortunately I don't know any names but I can say that your wife certainly has excellent taste in animals. I visited fairly recently and all of the giraffes appeared to be adults because I don't remember seeing any younger ones. Sorry I couldn't be of much help.

Last I heard, they had four females:

0.1 Lily born 2008, arrived 2009
0.1 Isha born 2008, arrived 2009
0.1 Vera born 2014, arrived 2015
0.1 Nzuri born 2014, arrived 2015

As far as I can tell, they’re content to maintain an all female herd (no plans for imports or exports). Giraffes tend to live for an average of 20 years in zoos, so while I’d expect all of the above to be alive in a year; it’s common sense to adopt one of the younger two, which your wife can form a longer association with over the next couple of decades.

Their male (Epesi) left in 2015:

Unfortunately Epesi and our rhino haven’t been getting on together recently and there were no signs of improvement of their relationship so the decision was made that it was in both Epesi and our rhinos best interest to separate them. Therefore, Epesi could no longer be housed within our mixed exhibit and has joined a bachelor herd at Twycross Zoo where he can relax and enjoy the company of other male giraffe.

Epesi the male giraffe moves on to join bachelor group! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo

 

[GiraffeJack10]

Last I heard, they had four females:

0.1 Lily born 2008, arrived 2009
0.1 Isha born 2008, arrived 2009
0.1 Vera born 2014, arrived 2015
0.1 Nzuri born 2014, arrived 2015

As far as I can tell, they’re content to maintain an all female herd (no plans for imports or exports).

Their male (Epesi) left in 2015:

Unfortunately Epesi and our rhino haven’t been getting on together recently and there were no signs of improvement of their relationship so the decision was made that it was in both Epesi and our rhinos best interest to separate them. Therefore, Epesi could no longer be housed within our mixed exhibit and has joined a bachelor herd at Twycross Zoo where he can relax and enjoy the company of other male giraffe.

Epesi the male giraffe moves on to join bachelor group! - ZOO NEWS - Colchester Zoo

I thought they had an all female group but I wasn't sure. I know this isn't relevant but Epesi unfortunately passed away in 2019 during a high risk procedure to correct a deformed hoof. He was a lovely giraffe.