[upbeat music playing]
We've got all kinds of animals here at the zoo--
young and old, big and small.
Over here, you'll see the tallest animals,
which are the giraffes.
And if you're lucky while you're here,
you may even get to feed one of them.
Yeah, she's hungry?
Extend your arm out and he'll stick
his tongue out for you, OK?
Their tongues are about 18 to 20 inches long
that's got great credit for being able to rip
leaves off branches.
[giggling]
ZOOKEEPER: Good boy, Turbo.
[crunches lettuce]
Today is a really exciting day.
We're actually getting a new giraffe to our herd.
We currently have three giraffe at our zoo.
We are really hoping that they do get along
very well with the new giraffe.
Turbo is our oldest.
He's actually going to be turning 14 later on this year.
He is definitely the most relaxed, chill guy
of the group.
You're so brave, Turbo.
Jack is our breeding bull.
As big as he is, he's actually kind of wimpy
when it comes to new things.
Butch is so silly because he's supposed
to be the big bad boy a good group, but we still love him.
Jack, can't make up his mind.
He keeps looking at us and looking at Leah.
He's like, I don't know which way to go.
KELLY: Leah is our sassy, fiery redhead girl.
She does what she wants when she wants, and ain't nobody going
to tell her anything different.
I never expected to really love these animals as much as I do.
But once you do, they put their full trust in you.
And I think that's an incredible relationship
to have with the animal.
Good boy.
Oh, what a good boy.
You're so brave.
KELLY: All three of the giraffe that we
currently have get along very, very well with one another.
So bringing in this brand new baby giraffe
is going to be quite a new experience.
Our new giraffe is Amelia, she is going to be 2, I believe,
in April.
Although, she's young right now, we
are hoping that in the next few years
that we can maybe start having some calves from her.
We got the trailer coming down right now.
Amelia may be a little stressed from the ride.
Coming to a new zoo is a big change for a giraffe.
It's kind of like anyone who's a young adult going
to their first new apartment or going to college,
it's a whole brand new experience for this animal.
Good! Keep it coming.
Keep it coming.
[truck beeping]
We're good!
My job today, basically, is to get Amelia in position
from the trailer into the barn.
[thud]
Hopefully, I can accomplish that without any hitches.
Come on, girly.
KELLY: It could be very challenging.
We don't know what her temperament
is, what her behaviors are going to be to a new environment.
Amelia.
She could walk off really smooth,
she could also want to stay in the trailer.
JASON: Come on.
Go see your new friends.
Come on.
KELLY: Giraffes are a kind of a combination of super curious
about what's going on as well as very cautious about new things.
She's like the shy kid on the first day of school.
Just kind of looking around through the doors,
not really sure where to go or what to do.
JASON: You want any of this?
She's thinking.
KELLY: Come on in.
JASON: She's coming.
She's coming.
KELLY: I can see her nose peeking around the corner,
so she's getting closer.
JASON: Good girl.
Look at you.
Couple more steps.
Good girl.
KELLY: Good job.
JASON: Good girl.
Great, guys, good job.
KELLY: Good girl.
I am super excited.
She did phenomenally well.
I couldn't ask for a better intro to the barn.
She's adorable.
She's tiny.
She's super tiny.
We think that she probably is around 10 feet tall, which
is probably at least four feet shorter
than our shortest giraffe.
Like any other animal that comes to the zoo,
we have to put them into quarantine
to make sure that she's not carrying
anything that we don't want to give to the other animals.
And then after that short amount of time,
we can start introducing her to the herd.
I think the giraffes are going to love Amelia.